China's former ruling party publishes its assets

The Chinese Kuomintang Party (KMT), the former ruling party of the country which is now headquartered in Taipei, the provincial capital of China's Taiwan Province, published its assets Wednesday.

The KMT's assets were worth 27.7 billion NT dollars in July, says a report released by the KMT Central Committee. The figure stood at 38.5 billion NT dollars in 1994, when the party was registered as a legal entity. It topped 91.8 billion NT dollars in December 1998.

The KMT's wealth has shrunk since then. In March 2000, when Lien Chan took over the chairmanship, the value of the party's assets declined to 80.8 billion NT dollars. In August 2005, Ma Ying-jeou became the chairman and the value of the party's assets dropped further to 31.1 billion NT dollars.

The report shows that of the party's current 27.7 billion NT dollars worth of assets, 2.3 billion NT dollars are tied up in real estate, while KMT-run businesses are valued at 23.3 billion NT dollars (44.3 billion NT dollars assets and 21 billion NT dollars of debt).

The KMT said it is willing to face the facts calmly, reviewing its past behavior and apologizing to the public in the most cordial manner.

The KMT was founded in 1894 and was the ruling party in the country from the 1920s up to the 1940s. In 1949, it moved its headquarters to Taiwan after the Communist Party of China (CPC) came to power.

The KMT ruled over Taiwan until March 2000, when it lost in Taiwan's elections.

Source: Xinhua