The properties used by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Japan are registered under the name of Ma Chi-chuang (馬紀壯), a former Taiwanese diplomat who died 18 years ago, Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said, urging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve the issue to avoid complications.
The properties consist of an office compound and a residence with a combined floor size of 5,634m2 on a 3,069m2 plot in Tokyo’s Shirokanedai District, Hsieh said, adding that they were purchased by the Taiwanese government, but registered under Ma’s name.
Their ownership has not changed hands even though there have been eight representatives since Ma, Hsieh added.
Photo: Miki Chang, Taipei Times
“Ma passed away a long time ago and his possession of office properties in Japan is likely to cause problems. I suggest that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should authorize the office to register its properties under an entity with an appropriate name,” Hsieh said.
The plots are estimated to have a market value of ¥10.8 billion (US$103.6 million) and the structures are worth about ¥5 billion, sources said.
According to Japanese records, Ma is listed as a member of the East Asian Relations Association Tokyo Office — the name used by the office prior to 1992 — and the lot address on the deed is similarly a defunct address used by the former association, Hsieh said.
After Japan withdrew its diplomatic recognition of the Republic of China (ROC) in 1972 in favor of Beijing, the People’s Republic of China moved to acquire the ROC embassy in Japan as a “diplomatic asset.”
In 1986, the office registered its properties in then-representative to Tokyo Ma’s name to prevent them being taken over by Beijing.
Although Ma left the post in 1990 and died in 1998, the deeds for the properties were never transferred to his successor, Chiang Hsiao-wu (蔣孝武), or to any subsequent representative, Hsieh said.
An official from the office said on condition of anonymity that transferring deeds “is a waste of money.”
However, a Japanese realtor of Taiwanese descent disputed the claim, saying: “Transferring deeds is inexpensive. The costs of stamp duties, scriveners’ fees and the like are minimal, but going through eight representatives without changing the registration is likely to cause major problems.”
According to the realtor, private landowners are little affected by their failure to update deeds to record property transfers after the death of the original property owners, but governments that registered their holdings under an individual or a foundation cannot afford to do so because of the business dealings they must conduct.
“When you change the representative, the registered property holder must be changed accordingly,” the realtor said.
Hsieh said he was “shocked” to learn of the issue.
“The conduct of the nation’s affairs should reflect Taiwan’s status as a nation. We should not save money on paperwork by using defunct foundations and deceased individuals to register the office’s property,” he said.
To prevent Chinese seizure of diplomatic assets, newly appointed office representatives should take over the property rights of all office holdings, or the government should establish a permanent foundation under which holdings would be registered, Hsieh said.
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