Legislators from several parties lashed out yesterday at first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) for gains made after her assets were put into trust, adding that President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) pledge to stay away from the stock market was a lie.
"Given that Chen announced during his re-election that his family members would not buy and sell stocks from then on, why did Wu still buy Fubon No. 1 REIT with a face value of about NT$40 million?" Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said.
Lo made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature's Finance Committee. His comments were echoed by other legislators.
According to the latest report on public officials' assets released by the Control Yuan on Tuesday, Wu had NT$48.32 million in stocks, up from the NT$8.19 million declared in a June 11, 2004 report.
Tuesday's report also showed that the first couple's savings had dropped to NT$3.31 million from the NT$42 million they declared on Nov. 7 last year.
If Wu retained the right to make decisions about her investments even after she put her stock assets into a trust, then it was not a real trust, Lo said.
"If the members of the first family were still involved in the stock market, it was no wonder that they were accused of speculating in stocks," Lo said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Fai (
The problem, he said, was the heads of the Fubon group have been very close to the first family.
"Given that close relationship, Wu's purchase of Fubon No. 1 REIT shares would inevitably arouse suspicion about the possibility of insider trading," Fai said.
People First Party Legislator Wu ching-chih (吳清池) said he didn't understand why Wu had not stopped making stock investments.
"I thought the first family was already very rich. The president should be able to do a better job of reining in Wu's investments," Wu said.
The Presidential Office yesterday dismissed speculation that Wu was still playing the stock market, saying she used NT$40 million to purchase mutual funds, not shares.
"The first lady has not bought more stocks since putting her assets into trust in 2004," the Presidential Office's Department of Public Affairs said in a statement. "To invest in mutual funds is not against the spirit of the law, nor is it an excessive investment in stocks."
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS