The legislature passed a law on Monday concerning ill-gotten assets of political parties. It states that assets obtained by political parties after 1945 are illegal and must be returned to the state. This does not include party membership fees and political donations.
The Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations was passed after an 11-hour review on Monday, amid controversy over the use of the term “ill-gotten.” Violators face a jail term of up to five years.
Cabinet spokesperson Tung Chen-yuan spoke Tuesday about the landmark legislation, saying, "The legislature passed the third reading of a law governing ill-gotten political party assets. The law goes into effect on the day of its announcement. When Premier Lin Chuan heard the law had passed, he told Minister without Portfolio Lin Mei-chu to set up a committee on ill-gotten party assets to enforce the law and transitional justice."
Tung said the premier called the law a milestone for democracy in Taiwan. The law addresses a longstanding issue in Taiwan’s transition from an authoritarian one-party state under the Kuomintang (KMT) to a full representative democracy.
But the KMT responded with a press conference on Tuesday saying the law was illegal and unconstitutional. It said it would use legal means to protect the party’s rights.
KMT Vice Chairman Steve Chan also said that KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu had already stated that whether the law were passed or not, she would donate all of the party’s assets except those needed to fund pensions, personnel and offices.