The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee (CIPAS; Chinese: 不當黨產處理委員會; pinyin: Búdàng Dǎngchǎn Chǔlǐ Wěiyuánhuì) is an independent government agency of the Republic of China responsible for the investigation and returning of ill-gotten assets of political parties and their affiliated organizations during the martial law period in Taiwan. All parties established before the lifting of martial law, 15 July 1987, are required to report their party assets to the committee. As the dominant party during the martial law period, the Kuomintang (KMT) and its affiliate organizations are the main targets of this investigation. The council is headquartered in Zhongshan District, Taipei.
History
The Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations was passed in July and Wellington Koo, one of the main authors of the Act, was named as the committee chairman in August. He stepped down from the Legislative Yuan to take the appointment. Koo assumed the committee chairmanship despite the Kuomintang citing Article 20 of the Act, which requires nonpartisan committee members, in its objections to Koo's leadership. Koo named most of the committee members on 24 August, and the group was officially established on 31 August. With the establishment of the committee, the KMT has insisted that it has been illegally and unconstitutionally persecuted and that the investigation is a political witch hunt. However, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) maintained that the means are necessary for achieving transitional justice and leveling the playing field for all political parties. In September 2017 Koo left the chairman post in a cabinet reshuffling and was succeeded by Lin Feng-cheng.
Chairpersons
Democratic Progressive Party
New Power Party
