Three senior opposition politicians were yesterday accused of having formed a triumvirate to gain control over national assets during the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) 50 years in power.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (
She said one case in point was the Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC), in which the KMT owns shares, acquiring land in Panchiao, Taipei County, that had been mandated by the former Directorate of Taiwan Telecommunications (
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
Yeh claimed the KMT had illegitimately interfered in the transfer of ownership. The BCC took control of the land when the telecommunications directorate was transformed into the Directorate of Northern Taiwan Telecommunications (
"Lien was really good at financial management. He not only managed his family property well, but also taught the BCC how to get the land by illegal means," Yeh said, citing official documents of the then Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
At the time Lien was the minister of Transportation and Communications, while Soong chaired the KMT-run Hua-Hsia Investment Holding Co (
Yeh said suspicions that the former minister had been involved in the transfer of property were raised after the telecommunications directorate complained that the land had been misappropriated. He did not demand that the BCC return the mandate to gain ownership, but instead asked the MOTC to apply for the Executive Yuan's approval of the BCC's mandate on the state-owned land, she said.
The BCC obtained ownership of the land in 1985, after Soong had asked the KMT government to request a change of ownership to the BCC. Yeh said the KMT government's approval of the transfer of ownership had no legal foundation.
She said Lin should also shoulder some of the responsibility, as he had remained silent about the property transfer.
The BCC responded to Yeh's challenge in a press release later yesterday, saying the DPP legislator's accusations were aimed at tarnishing the image of the KMT and its politicians.
But Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘), who also attended yesterday's media conference, expressed firm support for Yeh. He said that restoring pan-blue leaders to power would bring the country back to "black-gold" politics.
Chen also said that Lien had failed to realize his 2000 election campaign promise that the KMT would return the assets it had acquired illegally.
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