The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Tuesday published its accounts and accused the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee of being “worse than pirates,” saying it disseminates false information in order to force the KMT to use funds allocated for administrative expenses to pay its employees’ salaries.
The committee said that the KMT still has NT$85 million (US$2.69 million) in a political donations account with Chunghwa Post that it could use to pay party workers.
However, KMT Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said that up until Sunday, the account contained NT$64 million, with NT$31 million of that raised by local party headquarters and not available for central headquarters’ use.
The KMT’s local committees are in essence volunteer workers who raise funds for their own use, Tsai said, adding that the funds are showing up in the account due to the necessity of providing receipts.
The KMT’s administrative fees total NT$20 million per month, while personnel salaries total NT$45 million per month, Tsai said, adding that the money in the political donations account was insufficient to pay all party workers.
The accounts published on Tuesday showed that the KMT turned a profit of NT$2.4 billion from January to September, including income from properties under trust worth NT$1.9 billion, party membership fees of NT$289 million and political party subsidies of NT$278 million.
However, the KMT’s expenses were listed at NT$1.9 billion, including administrative expenses of NT$1.2 billion and human resource expenses of NT$787 million.
The party wired the remaining NT$500 million into a Bank SinoPac account that was frozen by the committee, Tsai said, adding that an additional NT$356 million, as well as a Bank of Taiwan check for NT$468 million, were also frozen in the account.
The party’s other accounts with the Bank of Taiwan, Chunghwa Post and Taishin Bank were not frozen and the party has NT$6.16 million in cash, which was withdrawn from the party’s membership fees accounts, Tsai said.
Unless the committee lifts the freeze on the Bank SinoPac account, the KMT is unable to pay its workers, Tsai said, adding that the committee is using its powers for political gains.
Committee spokesperson Shih Chin-fang (施錦芳) said that although the KMT said that more than half of the NT$60 million in its political donations account was raised by local party headquarters and the central party has no right to use it, the funds were still listed as “political donations.”
“The KMT has the money,” Shih said.
The committee is willing to lift the freeze on KMT accounts provided that the KMT provides a plan showing how it would use the funds, Shih said, adding that when one’s family fortunes are on the decline, one should attempt to find a way to turn things around.
The committee is willing to submit to a public inspection to gauge whether its decisions have overstepped boundaries, become twisted with outside motives, or still meet society’s expectations, Shih said.
The KMT, with its existing funds and some additional fund-raising, is capable of paying its workers, Shih said.
Additional reporting by Yang Chun-hui
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
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could