KMT's 'nominee registration' for party assets under scrutiny

An investigation into the Kuomintang's (KMT) historical assets has uncovered alleged practices of "nominee registration" to manage party property, particularly focusing on the former Songshan Paint Factory in Taipei. Documents indicate that the KMT's Taiwan Provincial Party Headquarters played a central role in overseeing these assets.

According to findings, the KMT's provincial headquarters allegedly managed stock certificates and official seals for party-owned enterprises. This practice, detailed in a directive from the then-Chairman of the KMT Taiwan Provincial Committee, Guo Cheng, to party member Chen Yu, appointed individuals as representatives for party-owned businesses like the Songshan Paint Factory. The directive stipulated that stock certificates and seals obtained by these representatives were to be kept by the party's finance committee for simplified procedures.

The investigation further alleges that the KMT received NT$1.02 million from the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) in 1959 for the purchase of the Songshan Paint Factory property. Despite the payment, the KMT allegedly failed to transfer the land and building ownership to state control. Furthermore, the party-owned company did not fulfill its seller's responsibilities, such as paying land value increment tax, leading to the transfer being rejected by land administration authorities.

This situation has left the Songshan Paint Factory land, located near Songshan High School and the National Railway Museum, as a "ghost asset" with the original company reportedly dissolved. The KMT's Taiwan Provincial Party Headquarters is said to have had the authority to appoint representatives for these party-owned businesses. The finance committee not only received and held the stocks but also had seals for the representatives custom-made and kept them, suggesting a method of indirect control over assets.

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Party stock representatives of party-run businesses are similar to 'nominee registration,' not truly owning the shares of that party-run business.