Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice presidential candidate Jennifer Wang (王如玄) yesterday visited the Taipei-based Legal Aid Foundation to discuss arrangements for donating part of the profits from her contentious sales of military housing units, as critics remained unconvinced by her explanation of the controversy on Tuesday.
Following a closed-door meeting with foundation secretary-general Chen Wei-shyang (陳為祥), Wang told reporters that she has long cooperated with the foundation and found it to be a decent, credible and professional organization.
“That is why the foundation is on the list of organizations to which I plan to donate my NT$13.8 million [US$417,587] profit,” Wang said, adding that other recipients would include associations promoting the rights and welfare of women, children and physically challenged individuals.
Photo: Chien Li-chung, Taipei Times
Wang made the remarks one day after she promised to donate the combined profits of NT$13.8 million she made from sales of seven government-subsidized military housing units in Taipei and New Taipei City.
The pledge was part of Wang’s attempt to assuage a snowballing controversy over her alleged speculation on military housing, which has undermined her integrity and taken a toll on the KMT’s already gloomy election prospects.
Wang said that when she served as minister of the Council of Labor Affairs from May 2008 to September 2012, she and the foundation jointly launched a legal aid program to offer free legal services to workers who were wrongfully dismissed, denied severance pay or pensions, or left stranded after sustaining occupational injuries.
“To date, the program has received 13,500 applications and helped reclaim nearly NT$1.9 billion owed to the applicants,” she said.
“After our talks, the foundation has agreed to provide assistance to veterans or their dependents who have been deceived or coerced into selling their properties,” she said.
Wang said she plans to donate between NT$500,000 and NT$1 million to each organization, adding that she would publish a list of all the recipients and the amount they received within five days.
Addressing criticism that she had underreported the profits she made from the property sales, Wang said all the figures she released on Tuesday reflected the truth.
She shrugged off the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) call that she make public relevant sales contracts to back her claims, saying that people would still question the authenticity of the documents even if she released them and that the presidential campaign should return to its rightful focus.
Several KMT members echoed her call to let the campaign move on from the real-estate controversy.
KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) said she hoped that Wang’s detailed explanation of the matter could put an end to the issue.
However, the DPP caucus held a news conference in Taipei yesterday morning asking how Wang managed to purchase several military apartments before they were completed.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) cited as an example the Ren Ai Xin Cheng (仁愛新城) residential complex in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正), in which Wang bought two units in 1995 — two years before they were completed in 1997.
“Also, the Shi Mao Xin Cheng (世貿新城) complex in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) was completed in 1998, but Wang managed to purchase one unit in 1997, while the Da Peng Xin Cheng (大鵬新城) complex in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) was completed in 2000, but Wang acquired a unit in 1997,” Chen said.
The Act for Rebuilding Old Quarters for Military Dependents (國軍老舊眷村改建條例) imposes a five-year ban on the sale of military apartments after their completion and registration of property rights, Chen said.
“How on earth did Wang manage to buy those houses before they were even completed? Is she that well-connected? Who introduced her to such opportunities?” Chen asked.
Separately, Taiwan Veterans’ Village Rights Promotion Association director Shang Chieh-mei (尚潔梅) filed a lawsuit against Wang, accusing her of forgery and violating the Attorney Regulation Act (律師法).
Shang said that Wang’s buying and selling of military housing units alloted for residents of veterans’ villages severely undermined these people’s rights.
Wang also failed to abide by the rules on conflicts of interest and is clearly unfit to continue as a lawyer, Shang said.
Additional reporting by Tseng Wei-chen
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