President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) son-in-law and four members of his family were summoned for questioning by Taipei prosecutors yesterday over their alleged involvement in insider trading of Taiwan Development Corp (TDC) shares.
The company's chairman, Su Teh-jien (
"President Chen's son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘), Chao's father Chao Yu-chu (趙玉柱), his mother Chien Shui-mien (簡水綿), and Chao's younger brother Chao Chien-hsun (趙建勳) and his wife were questioned," said Taipei District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Pang-liang (林邦樑) .
They are defendants in the investigation, Lin said.
Chien, Waterland Securities Co board director Tsai Chin-wen (蔡清文) and businessman Yu Shih-yi (游世一) bought large numbers of TDC shares after the Chang Hwa Commercial Bank released them, and they made substantial profits when TDC shares rose abruptly after the firm received a syndicated loan from a conglomerate of banks that included Chang Hwa Commercial Bank.
Lin had said prosecutors were trying to discover whether Chao and the others knew about the loan when they decided to buy TDC shares from the bank.
The scandal dates back to last summer when Su Teh-jien, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank chairman Chang Po-shin (張伯欣), bank president Chen Chen-chao (陳辰昭) and another bank official dined with Chao Chien-ming, Tsai and Yu at a Japanese restaurant in Taipei on two separate occasions.
Officials suspect that the seven discussed the trading of TDC shares on both occasions.
After the meetings, Chao's mother, Tsai and Yu reportedly bought large numbers of TDC shares that had been released by the bank.
Chao Chien-hsun and his wife also reportedly bought TDC shares after learning from insiders that their value would increase.
Tsai and Yu have been detained by the Taipei District Court.
Chien, Chao Chien-hsun and his wife were released later last night, while Chao Yu-chu and Chao Cheng-ming were still being questioned at press time. Chien was swamped by reporters and hit on the head by a camera. He was then taken to National Taiwan University Hospital for an examination.
Meanwhile, the United Daily News, a local Chinese-language newspaper, yesterday reported prosecutors discovered that in last August Tsai deposited a total of NT$27 million (US$843,000) into the bank accounts of Chao's parents and brother; funds that were then transferred to Yu's bank account.
The report said the money was used to invest in two land development proposals which might have involved insider trading, but prosecutor spokesman Lin refused to comment yesterday on the report.
President Chen said in a statement last night that he would not seek to hide any wrongdoing of the Chao family and would accept the result of the investigation.
also see stories:
President's interference in scandal probe denied
FSC may discipline bank chair
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique