Hard to prove? After decades of campaigning and a marathon session in Taiwan’s parliament, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party finally passed a law to investigate the party assets that were allegedly illegally obtained during the Kuomintang’s 50 years in power. But one lawyer suggests the hard work may be just getting started.
The News Lens
Date: 2016/07/26
By: Hsu Chia-yu
Taiwan’s legislators yesterday passed a landmark bill that will allow investigators to indentify
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political assets acquired illegally over the past 71 years and return them to the state.
The Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations was passed after an 11-hour session in the Legislative Yuan – which since the January elections is now controlled by a majority of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members.
The Kuomintang (KMT) has long been accused of exploiting its decades of one-party rule and building up a massive asset base, worth billions. The party earlier this year claimed the net worth of its assets was no more than NT$16 billion (US$500 million) – this figure is widely disputed and far below many other estimates.
The law will see the establishment of a special commission, which will operate under the executive branch of government, to investigate all party assets acquired since August 1945. [FULL STORY]