Taipei, July 28 (CNA) Winning a legislative majority is the key to effectively handling the issue of the main opposition Koumintang's (KMT's) "illegally-acquired" assets, President Chen Shui-bian said Saturday.
Addressing the International Conference on Comparative Studies of Transitional Justice held in Taipei City, Chen said that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) gaining a majority in the legislature in the next legislative elections is essential for related bills to be passed.
The president called the issue of the KMT's "illegally-acquired" assets "the biggest cause for regret" on Taiwan's road to democratization and normalization as a country.
"The issue of the ill-gotten assets is not an internal KMT matter, but instead a national issue" Chen said.
Noting that the DPP has not been able to deal with the issue since coming to power in 2000 due to the KMT's ability to consistently block related bills in the legislature because of the slim majority that it holds with its "pan-blue" ally, the People First Party, Chen said that an alternative way, namely a referendum on "ill-gotten" party assets, has to be worked out to force the KMT to return the assets to the national coffers.
In 1994, the KMT listed the total value of its assets at NT$38.5 billion (US$1.16 billion), with the figure skyrocketing to NT$80.8 billion in 2000 before slipping to NT$25.5 billion as of July of this year, Chen pointed out.
"Where has the other NT$55.4 billion gone?" Chen asked.
The president claimed that Ma Ying-jeou had stepped up efforts in selling off part of the assets through secret deals during his time as KMT chairman between 2005 and 2007, adding that Lien Chan, who is now an honorary KMT chairman, has not fulfilled his promise made when running for the presidency in 2000 and 2004 to return the assets to the national coffers.
The one-day conference, which was organized by Taiwan Thinktank, brought together scholars and officials from Germany, Mongolia, Hungary and Lithuania to discuss the experiences of countries around the world in dealing with transitional justice, with the focus being on handling party assets.