President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) ranks No. 1 in terms of personal savings among central government officials, with an increase of NT$3.1 million (US$105,000) in savings in the past year and more than NT$73 million in his bank account, a recent accounts disclosure shows.
Citing a periodical disclosure of a report on civil servants’ personal assets by the Control Yuan, the Chinese-language United Daily News said Ma’s annual salary was about NT$6.3 million and that the president saves about half of that amount.
With the annual salary for ministers standing at NT$4.3 million, former premier Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) asset disclosure from last year showed savings of NT$13 million, a NT$760,000 increase, while his other assets remained unchanged.
On Wu’s possible expenditures, Control Yuan officials told the United Daily News that asset disclosures only include total assets and do not include specifics, such as expenditures.
The report showed that Premier Sean Chen (陳冲), Judicial Yuan President Rai Hau-min (賴浩敏) and Examination Yuan President John Kuan (關中) have total assets exceeding NT$100 million each.
Chen’s wife, Ko Chang-chu (柯長珠), is very capable at managing the family’s finances, the report said, with the value of the seven buildings and one plot of land in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) that are held in trust exceeding the total value of Ma’s assets.
It said the value of Rai’s 17 plots of land in Da-an District (大安), which are also held in trust, and Kuan’s plots of land were not valued far behind the Chen’s.
In terms of changes, Chen’s assets stood at NT$66 million, with savings of NT$13 million, down NT$3.1 million from his last disclosure, though the value of his securities rose by NT$1.3 million, the United Daily News said.
Rai’s assets stood at NT$60 million, an increase of NT$2.1 million in savings and a decrease of NT$50,000 in debt. Ten pieces of gold that Rai owns also proved beneficial as the rise in the price of gold increased their value by NT$700,000, the report said.
Kuan’s savings stood at NT$20 million, down NT$4.2 million from his last disclosure, while the value of his securities rose NT$320,000. However, Kuan also paid off a real-estate debt of NT$14.3 million, the report said.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng’s (王金平) savings increased by NT$1.1 million, while Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien’s savings dropped to NT$10 million from NT$22 million, but he increased his investment in mutual funds by NT$12 million.
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