The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has refused to pay Cabinet-ordered compensation of NT$864.88 million (US$28.43 million) for selling properties appropriated from the Japanese colonial government, with the party saying that the properties were legally acquired and that it would appeal the order.
The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee on June 15 ordered the KMT to pay for 458 properties appropriated from the former Japanese government, which were later sold or expropriated.
The payment was due yesterday and failure to meet the deadline could result in the freezing of assets and detention of the KMT chairperson, who acts as the party’s legal representative.
Photo: CNA
The KMT yesterday said it would launch an administrative suit against the committee’s “illegal order.”
The former Japanese properties were transferred to the KMT to compensate the party for its wartime expenses during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the party said.
The transfer was approved by a high-level decisionmaking body joined by top government and military officials and KMT dignitaries during the post-war period, and therefore the transferred properties were not ill-gotten, it said.
The KMT rejected the committee’s claim that the property transfer was made in violation of the principles of democracy and rule of law and beyond the authority of a political party, saying the transfer was completely legal.
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) stipulates that a compensation order can only be given in cases where an ill-gotten property has been transferred to a third party and cannot be recovered.
The committee gave the order without first investigating the status of the properties in question, the KMT said.
Meanwhile, the committee said it would ask the Administrative Enforcement Agency to enforce the payment.
“The KMT has little cash at hand and its legal income cannot be the target of enforcement actions, so it should be the party’s real estate that is subjected to enforcement,” committee spokeswoman Shih Chin-fang (施錦芳) said.
The agency would follow due process and enforcement would not be affected unless the KMT requests a stay of execution to halt the committee’s order, but the party did not take any such action, Shih said.
Former Japanese properties should be national properties and historical data have shown how the KMT appropriated such properties, she added.
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS