The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has been trying to obtain the People First Party’s (PFP) support to jointly file a request in the legislature for a constitutional interpretation on 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) passed on Monday, KMT Vice Chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢) said yesterday.
As it requires at least one-third, or 38, of all 113 legislators to file a request for a constitutional interpretation and the KMT caucus has only 35 seats, the KMT would need to form an alliance with lawmakers from other parties to reach the threshold.
In a radio interview, Chan said the KMT has been in communication with the PFP via various channels, with some saying that there is “room for consideration,” but adding that it is “not yet the last moment.”
When asked whether the KMT was directly in touch with PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), Chan said that he could not offer a clear answer, as he did not have the details of how contact was established.
Chan said the KMT has also “indirectly” approached Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers.
Chan denied media speculation that he has a different stance from KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) on how the party’s assets should be handled.
“It is just that Hung, as chairwoman, has more to take into consideration,” he said, adding that he also considers the act to be unconstitutional and contravening existing laws, calling it bad for democracy.
Chan said the party would be restructured, receiving more help from volunteers and donating the rest of its assets after calculating and reserving a portion to cover the interests of retired party workers.
With the passage of the act and the establishment of an Executive Yuan committee to handle ill-gotten party assets, Chan said the KMT would recommend representatives to the committee if asked to do so by the government.
Chan said that he does not know and has never asked how many assets the KMT possesses.
“The point is whether they are hidden away,” he added.
To his knowledge, the KMT Administration and Management Committee has a “crystal-clear” record of the party’s assets, he said, adding that the Cabinet and the Control Yuan had conducted related investigations during the terms of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and that members of the public can also tip the government off about what they suspect to be “hidden” KMT assets.
In regards to the party’s readiness to donate assets, Chan said the KMT’s stance is that it would “rather go bankrupt than continue to be accused of possessing ill-gotten assets.”
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS