KMT 18 Per Cent Party Bonus: Time to Face Up

Thursday January 13, by Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

When a minority party such as the KMT with their 2 million people coming to Taiwan in 1949 wishes to control a majority population with a one-party state they need more than guns, martial law, and a dictatorial regime. They need a way to buy off the many people that will run the government, the military, and the schools. The KMT's answer to this was to give them a perk (18 per cent interest on their retirement money)in exchange for letting the KMT control the big money making schemes and kick-backs on all the projects and control over all other financial support given by countries like the USA.

The DPP has criticized this lop-sided scheme; in turn KMT have criticized DPP members who have benefited by this. Recently KMT Secretary General and Snake-oil Salesman King Pu-tsung and other KMT lawmakers criticized DPP leader Tsai Ing-wen for profiting by this scheme while still criticizing it.

Tsai has responded by giving up her preferential partaking of the system and so put the ball back in the KMT court. In other words she put her benefits where her mouth was. Will the KMT respond accordingly. My money would say, "No way!" The KMT are masters at deflection; they have avoided the issue of stolen state assets; they have avoided the issues of transitional justice and they will avoid this one.

Look for Snake-oil Salesman King Pu-tsung and other KMT leaders to crawfish away and try to place blame on something else, but they will not give up their 18 per cent benefits as well as all the other perks that their party has gained going back to their one-party state days.