Candidates shed light on assets

Members of the public were treated to their first look at the wealth of the main presidential candidates yesterday, as the Central Election Commission (CEC, 中選會) publicized information about the financial holdings of candidates and their families.

Although the lists are quite obviously not complete indicators of the candidates' personal wealth, it came as little surprise that KMT candidate Lien Chan (連戰) came out on top. His fortune, which is believed to run into billions of NT dollars, includes massive real estate and stock holdings.

Lien Chan and his wife, Lien Fang-yu (連方禹), own nine tracts of land in Taipei and Taoyuan, 25 housing units, over NT$120 million in bank deposits, and NT$463 million in stocks. Lien Fang-yu also reported NT$13 million in jewelry.

The couple's report to the CEC also included a NT$36.2 million loan to Pingtung (屏東) County Commissioner Wu Tse-yuan (伍澤元), which was listed under Lien Fang-yu's name. The loan to Wu is allegedly linked to a case of land speculation in 1993 where some DPP legislators said the money was in fact a campaign contribution that exceeded legal limits or a kickback from an illegal investment project. When the scandal came to light two years ago, Lien said that he "could not remember" having given Wu the money.

Lien Chan also owns memberships to three exclusive golf clubs, with a total estimated value of NT$13 million.

All the real estate reported by his running mate, Premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), is listed under the name of his wife, Chu Shu-hsien.

The couple hold title to two tracts of land and own two houses, all in Taipei. The Siew family reported NT$1.2 million in bank deposits, but Chu has a NT$3.57 million outstanding bank loan.

DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his running mate Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) were the only candidates to include records of campaign funds in their report to the CEC.

Chen has NT$7.75 million in his presidential campaign fund, as well as a foreign exchange account at a domestic bank with funds amounting to nearly NT$7 million. The money in the account is believed to be campaign contributions from overseas supporters.

Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍), own five plots of land and four houses, one in Tainan and three in Taipei. The couple's securities holdings are substantial, and are valued to slightly over NT$15 million, including NT$4 million in stock in such companies as the China Development Corp (中華開發) and Masterlink Securities (元富證券).

Independent candidate James Soong owns a plot of land and a house near San Francisco in the US, as well as three homes in Taipei County. Soong also has nearly NT$9 million in bank deposits. Soong's wife, Chen Wan-shui (陳萬水) also has holdings in the millions in local banks.

Soong and his wife reported owning just one vehicle, and claimed no stock holdings or debts.

Soong's running mate Chang Chao-hsiung (張昭雄) is considerably more wealthy. He owns eight tracts of land and six houses, with a total of NT$23 million in bank deposits and over NT$10 million in stocks.