Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday voted through the first reading of a bill to exempt party-affiliated organizations from being implicated for holding ill-gotten assets, while Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers criticized Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators for not voting.
The KMT proposed amending articles 4 and 34 of 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).
The former article defines an “affiliated organization” as a group “once substantially controlled by the political parties in terms of personnel, finance or operation and has acquired its separated status and assets from the political parties without paying fair price.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
KMT Legislator Yu Hao’s (游顥) proposal would add: “but those once belonging to the country shall not be included.”
A DPP proposal to return the motion to the Procedure Committee failed in a 52-49 vote, with a recount yielding the same result.
There were 101 of the 113 lawmakers at the vote.
The DPP said that the TPP was a lackey of the KMT after its lawmakers abstained from voting during the bid to return the amendment to the Procedure Committee.
DPP caucus deputy chief executive Michelle Lin (林楚茵) wrote on Facebook that the KMT’s first move after expanding the powers of the Legislative Yuan was to attempt to reclaim party assets.
The TPP, by its inaction, was supporting the KMT’s act and willingly becoming its lackey, Lin wrote.
DPP Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) wrote on Threads that the KMT was the “greatest robber baron in the nation.”
The KMT attempted to reclaim about 20,000 hectares of land and NT$1.63 billion (US$50.39 million) that the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee in 2016 ruled was illegally obtained.
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) posted photographs on Facebook showing TPP Legislator Wu Chun-cheng (吳春城) smoking during the vote, alleging that Wu had skipped it.
Wu said it spoke volumes that the DPP was silent on DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) smoking in areas where it is forbidden while “making a fuss” over his smoking in permitted areas.
The TPP is an autonomous party and is not affiliated with anyone, he said.
The TPP caucus did not attend to express the party’s neutrality in the matter, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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