Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung’s (林佳龍) fortune has grown to more than NT$300 million (US$9.62 million), an increase of NT$135 million from last year’s declaration, according to the latest civil servant assets declaration published by the Control Yuan last week.
Lin’s savings grew by NT$68.76 million to NT$145.76 million, while the value of his securities rose NT$66.86 million to NT$154.08 million over the past 17 months, the Control Yuan reported.
Many of the declared properties belong to Lin’s wife, Liao Wan-ju (廖婉如), a daughter of former Chi Mei Electronics Corp chairman Frank Liao (廖錦祥) and niece of Chimei Group founder Shi Wen-long (許文龍).
Also listed on Lin’s declaration are a plot of land and two properties in Taipei and a property in New Taipei City. The Taipei properties are registered in his wife’s name, the report showed.
The savings and 29 insurance policies are shared between Lin, his wife and their two children, the report said.
The declared securities are registered in the names of his wife and children, who hold shares of Chimei Innolux Corp, Lian Ci Development Corp, Chi Lin Technology Co, Taiwan Solar Energy Corp and others — mostly subsidiaries of the Chimei Group.
Lin also declared NT$500,000 in cash, a drop of NT$570,000 from last year, the report said.
While Lin, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, did not comment on his fortune, Taichung City Information Bureau Director-General Cho Kuan-ting (卓冠廷) said that Lin’s asset growth was mainly due to the Liao family’s business ventures and the collection of redistributed properties from a liquidated company, whose shares Liao Wan-ju held.
Lin has Liao Wan-ju handle his assets and has honestly declared his properties, Cho said, adding that Lin is an upstanding politician who can withstand public scrutiny.
Liao Wan-ju’s savings growth was largely due to the dividend yields of her stock holdings, while the appreciation of her securities could be tied to the dissolution of Yu Nung Investment Co last year, which redistributed some securities it held to Liao Wan-ju, Cho said.
That accounted for the disappearance of her original possession of Yu Nung Investment’s share in Lin’s property declaration this year, Cho said.
Liao Wan-ju’s portfolio selection was tied to her family’s business planning, including the merger of Chi Mei Electronics Corp with Innolux Corp and the liquidation of Yu Nung Investment, Cho said.
The two properties in Taipei are an apartment and a parking space first mortgaged 16 years ago, when the couple were working in Taipei, and the Lin family is still repaying the mortgage, Cho said.
The property listed in New Taipei City is a niche in a columbarium that stores the urn of Lin’s father, not a “mansion” as some had reported, Cho said.
That the Lin family rented their residence in Taichung without owning an apartment sparked controversy when Lin was campaigning for mayor last year.
Cho said that living in a rented property is not inferior to owning an apartment, as both are viable housing options.
Chiayi Mayor Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲) declared NT$37.33 million in savings, NT$1.5 million in securities, NT$1.36 million in business ventures, 17 plots of land and four properties, the report said.
Twu’s assets grew by NT$14.37 million in savings and dropped by NT$1.08 million in securities from last year, with the acquisition of four plots and one property.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS