The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that it would request a constitutional interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices to safeguard the party’s interests, but vowed to honor its pledge to donate all party assets to charity, regardless of the results of the interpretation.
Accompanied by party cadres, KMT Vice Chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢) yesterday morning held a news conference in Taipei regarding the KMT’s next moves following the passage by the legislature of the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例) on Monday night.
“We will file for a constitutional interpretation and do everything in our power to meet the requirements for such an application, since it is, after all, a legal and constitutional process,” Chan said.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Chan said that while a request for a constitutional interpretation is the KMT’s preferred option, the party does not rule out resorting to other legal and constitutional measures that conform to the principles of democracy and rule of law to defend its rights and interests, such as filing an administrative appeal.
However, as the act has already cleared the legislative floor, the KMT will approach it with an “ordinary state of mind” and follow all due procedures, including truthfully declaring the party’s assets, Chan said, adding that “there will be no tricks.”
Saying that the KMT’s assets are more of a political issue than a legal one, Chan said some parts of the act deserve reconsideration, but the party would nevertheless fulfill a pledge made by KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) on July 14.
“Hung promised at the time that, except for legally acquired office space and funds to cover personnel costs, she plans to donate everything,” Chan said.
“The reason for such a decision is that we feel our assets have been a cause of social and political division. We would forever be mired unless we get rid of this baggage,” he added.
Dismissing speculation that the constitutional interpretation request is an attempt by the KMT to preserve its assets, Chan said the party would still donate its assets, even if the interpretation is in its favor.
“We simply do not want to be stigmatized by people using illegitimate approaches and pretexts,” Chan said.
He added that the KMT would part ways with the past and face the public with a new appearance, mindset and style.
According to Paragraph 3, Article 5 of the Law of Interpretation Procedures For Grand Justices (司法院大法官審理案件法), lawmakers planning to file a request for a constitutional interpretation are required to gather the support of at least one-third of all 113 legislators.
That means that the KMT caucus, which only holds 35 seats in the Legislative Yuan, will have to team up with other parties to meet the statutory threshold.
In response to reporters’ questions on whether the party intends to ally itself with the People First Party, a spin-off of the KMT, on the matter, Chan did not respond directly, saying that he is well aware of the KMT’s predicaments and it would do its utmost to make the application possible.
“Success lies in our effort,” Chan said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS