TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s legislature on Friday passed amendments exempting the China Youth Corps from rules governing ill-gotten party assets, applying the changes retroactively to 2016.

The revisions to the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations were approved on third reading, per CNA.

The proposal, introduced by KMT Legislator Yu Hao (游顥) and others, removes the CYC from the law’s scope by excluding organizations that were “once part of the state” from the definition of political party affiliates. The move was backed by the KMT and TPP which together hold a legislative majority, per UDN.

Yu said the CYC was established by the Cabinet in 1952 and placed under the Ministry of National Defense, later being overseen by the Ministry of Education and registered as a non-government organization. He described the group as a public-interest, service-oriented organization rather than a party affiliate.

Yu said the Ill-Gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee’s decision to designate the CYC as a KMT affiliate led to the freezing of its assets, including 61 plots of land, buildings, and more than NT$1.63 billion (US$51.9 million). He argued the move crippled the organization’s operations and justified legislative intervention.

DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) criticized the amendments, saying they would create loopholes benefiting the CYC and the Chinese Women’s League while undermining judicial decisions. She said returning ill-gotten party assets is central to Taiwan’s democratic transition and accused the KMT of bypassing committee scrutiny.

Fan said the CYC historically functioned as a KMT youth organization, monopolized inter-school student activities and cooperated with intelligence agencies to monitor campuses. She warned the amendments could result in the loss of state land and buildings worth more than NT$400 billion.