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Lien Chan's eldest daughter reacts to allegations in `Next'

As Next magazine revealed fresh allegations about Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) family wealth, Lien Hui-hsin (連惠心), Lien's eldest daughter, yesterday read an open letter to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) asking that he stop "smearing" her father.

"I hope the finger-pointing and negative campaign tactics stop right here and all candidates return to rational debates on positive policies and platforms," Lien Hui-hsin told a press conference at the campaign office of Lien and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).

Lien Hui-hsin had originally planned to personally deliver the letter to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters but changed her mind.

She attributed her change of heart to an announcement by Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), tycoon Wang Yung-ching (王永慶) and Cloud Gate artistic director Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) on Thursday.

Worried by the candidates' squabbling, the three requested that candidates put aside political differences and focus on safeguarding national interests.

The open letter came after the latest issue of Next magazine, which hit newsstands on Wednesday evening, reported that Lien Chan and his wife, Lien Fang Yu (連方瑀), had established two figurehead companies overseas to sell two houses located in San Francisco to their children to evade paying taxes.

The report said that Lien Fang Yu failed to report to the Control Yuan about the family's financial situation. The report said she is still the president of a company registered in the Cayman Islands.

The report also alleged that Lien Fang Yu sold a US$2.6 million mansion in San Francisco to the company in August 1993, one day before the Public Functionary Assets Disclosure Law (公職人員財產申報法) went into effect. The mansion was later sold to Lien Hui-hsin.

Lien Chan also used the same tactic to transfer another house to one of his two sons, Lien Sheng-wen (連勝文), but from a different company registered in the Cayman Islands, the report claimed.

PFP Legislator Pang Chien-kuo (龐建國) said yesterday the family would consider filing a defamation lawsuit against the magazine if it continues to publish false reports about the family's wealth.

"The family's lawyer completed the written complaint yesterday and is ready to file a lawsuit if the magazine ignores the family's call," Pang said.

Pang admitted that the family used the figurehead companies to transfer family assets to their children, but the one sold to Lien Sheng-wen was later sold to someone else in 2000, while Lien Hui-hsin still owns the other house.

"It's not necessary to include her house in the family's financial possession because Lien Hui-hsin was over 20 years old when she bought the house," Pang said. "Besides, the entire process of the transaction was legal and it was untrue that the property transfer was aimed at shunning public scrutiny before the law took effect," he said.

Pang said Lien Chan and his wife do not handle family finances because Lien Chan's mother, Chao Lan-kun (趙蘭坤), handled such matters before she fell ill.

Also see story:
Lien Soong under fire over land transfer
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