The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) former financial prowess stemmed from concessions that the party granted businesses it operated, as well as a “special foreign exchange” regimen that applied exclusively to KMT members during the party-state era, which was independent of the regular foreign exchange system, academics said.
Speaking at a symposium last week focusing on democracy pioneer Fu Cheng (傅正) and the KMT’s assets, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research southern branch director Jason Kao (高仁山) said that the KMT regime shortly after it arrived in Taiwan created a special foreign exchange system.
The system allowed KMT-run businesses to bypass restrictions that the party otherwise imposed on foreign currency transactions, imports and exports, which in turn helped them gain an advantage over their competitors and monopolize the market.
While the special foreign exchange system was only available to businesses run by KMT members, other businesses often resorted to bribery and undue networking to be included in the system, which led to the rise of special foreign exchange brokers, negatively affecting the economy, people’s livelihoods and the sociopolitical climate, Kao said.
The KMT meddled with monopolistic state-run enterprises, such as CPC Corp, Taiwan, Ill-Gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee deputy researcher Yang Chen-yu (楊鎮宇) said, adding that CPC paid NT$1 commission for every NT$8.5 it made through the sale of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas in the 1970s to KMT-operated Ruei Hua Co (瑞華公司), the KMT-appointed “official distributor” of fuels.
Ruei Hua Co was dissolved in 1978 and replaced by the now-defunct department of liquefied gas supply under the Veteran Affairs Council, which continued to levy commission for the KMT’s benefit and paid “rent” to the KMT and its Yu Tai Co (裕台公司), which owned most of the land on which gas filling plants were located, Yang said.
Even though the sale of LPG was opened to free competition in 1993, it was not until KMT-controlled Central Investment Co and Kuang Hua Co (光華公司) in 2002 disposed of shares they held in other LPG firms that the KMT officially withdrew from the business, he said.
KMT-operated businesses that profited from LPG sales since 1971 included Central Investment Co, Ruei Hua and Kuang Hua, which together founded Shin Shin Natural Gas Co (欣欣天然氣) and 11 other LPG companies, Yang added.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS