The Presidential Office announced yesterday that first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) will ask trust fund management companies to sell all the stock she holds and donate the profits to charitable organizations and disadvantaged groups, amid opposition allegations that she profited from insider trading.
Wu's decision to sell the investments reflected "the high moral standards she requires of herself," the Presidential Office said in a statement. It said she will entrust the sale to a bank trustee and will donate any profits to charity.
According to the latest Control Yuan report on the assets of public officials, Wu owns stocks worth a total value of NT$48.32 million (US$1.5 million), all of which have been put into trust.
Stocks held by Wu include Fubon REITs No.1, Taiwan Cement, Nan Ya Plastics, United Microelectronics, Accton Technology, Nanya Technology, MediaTek, International Bank of Taipei, Hua Nan Financial Holdings, Mega Holdings and Faraday Technology.
Wu has been an active stock investor and her financial statements have shown large profits, leading opposition lawmakers to question whether she had received insider information. She has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Wu has recently been in the headlines over the controversial takeover of Taipei's Sogo Department Store in 2002 following serious financial difficulties incurred by the store's owner.
Opposition politicians have accused her of receiving free vouchers from the store's new management and questioned her role in its takeover by a businessman whose bid was less than that of at least one rival suitor.
The Presidential Office has denied that Wu received any gifts in connection with the Sogo deal, saying she paid for the gift vouchers herself.
Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday called on the public not to make a fuss over first lady's donation.
"This is not the first time the first family [have made donations to charity], and it's nothing to make a fuss about. The issue is not how much profit she makes, but the significance of the move," he said.
Cho said the first family had resolved the issue "within the shortest period of time," and called on the public to stop making criticisms or allegations against the first family.
Wu's decision was applauded by legislators across party lines.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said the demand that the first family can't invest in the stock market was overkill.
"The first lady's gains from the stock market were not filthy lucre. Now that the public has demanded such high standards, the DPP will comply with them. We just hope that future members of the first family will also comply with these standards," Gao said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator whip Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) said it would be a commendable move if Wu sold all of her stocks and shares.
"But if she just wants to sell part of her stock, I believe the donations would be unnecessary," he said.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that a compulsory property trust was not a good way to monitor the financial situations of civil servants, and called on the DPP to resolve the recent controversy over the first lady's investments.
"Property declarations which demand civil servants make public their property for examination if it exceeds a certain amount would be the best system," Ma said yesterday.
He said the KMT would "keep an eye on" the issue.
"The DPP should solve its own problems ? Hopefully [the president] knows what to do," he added.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and Mo Yan-chih
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2