The Control Yuan published asset declarations of government officials yesterday, the first time since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration came to power on May 20.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and first lady Chow Mei-chin’s (周美青) bank deposits increased to NT$64.68 million (US$1.94 million) from NT$52.37 million in February when he was running his presidential campaign.
Data released by the Control Yuan showed that the first couple have stocks valued at NT$687,470 and other securities valued at NT$289,736, while in 2006 their stocks were valued at NT$684,470 and the other securities at NT$249,787.
The data also showed that bank deposits belonging to Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and his wife decreased to NT$27. 25 million from NT$29.05 million in February.
Siew’s wife Chu Chu-hsien (朱俶賢) declared that she possessed two pieces of diamond jewelry valued at NT$1.2 million and NT$1.4 million respectively and two necklaces worth NT$700,000.
Of the 74 officials whose declared assets were listed, Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) was the only official whose assets were being managed by financial consultants to avoid any possible conflict of interest.
The publication showed that the savings of Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and his wife increased to NT$11.34 million from NT$9.93 million nine years ago when Liu was vice premier.
Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) and his wife’s savings increased from NT$9.12 million nine years ago when Chiu was finance minister to NT$16.4 million.
Executive Yuan Secretary-General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) and his wife’s savings also increased, from NT$8.73 million when he was vice chairman of the National Science Council seven years ago, to NT$11.34 million.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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