Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), the convener of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, has scheduled the draft political party act (政黨法) for legislative review tomorrow, after KMT lawmakers last week blocked a review of draft regulations on the disposition of assets improperly obtained by political parties (政黨不當取得財產處理條例).
There are currently eight versions of the draft political party act, including proposals from the Executive Yuan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the People First Party, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, and separate versions by DPP legislators Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) and Yu Mei-nu (尤美女).
Wu said that the Legislative Yuan should not focus only on the KMT and its party assets.
Taiwan has 260 registered political parties and legislation defining a political party as a legal entity, its rights and its establishment has long been stalled, Wu said.
The issue of political parties being allowed to use their assets for investment may also be open to discussion, he said.
The draft political party act is sufficient to resolve the issue of dealing with party assets, voiding the need to discuss the draft statute on disposition of assets improperly obtained by political parties, which is stuck in the legislature’s Procedure Committee, he said.
In response, DPP caucus convener Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said that the KMT’s assets have already exceeded the statute of limitations, but the KMT has blocked review of the draft statute on asset disposition at least 275 times since 2001.
Saying that the draft political party act does not fully cover the issue of party assets, DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津) said the KMT should stop paying lip service whenever the opposition calls for a review of its party assets.
DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said he would pay special attention to the review tomorrow to ensure fair competition during elections.
The draft political party act has been in limbo for more than two years since KMT Legislator Chiang Ching-chung (張慶忠) blocked its review, Lee said.
The DPP caucus said it plans to propose a review of the draft statute on disposition of assets improperly obtained by political parties statute again today and urged KMT lawmakers not to oppose the motion.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial