The grassroots movement pushing for a mass recall of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from multiple constituencies is catching fire across the nation. On top of this, it was recently revealed that KMT Legislator Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) — who is on the recall list for Taipei lawmakers, alongside her colleagues Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) and Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) — owns properties in an upscale residential area in Irvine, California, and the resort city of Sanya on China’s Hainan island that are worth hundreds of millions of New Taiwan dollars. If the reports are correct, the market value of her California mansion alone could be as high as NT$2.1 billion (US$63.97 million).
Lee said that she purchased the property in Irvine in 2016 for US$1.8 million — about NT$59.09 million at the current exchange rate — not NT$2.1 billion as former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) claimed. The property consists of a house with a floor area of 5,142ft2 (478m2) that sits on a 6,900ft2 plot of land.
According to Lee, her office staff made a mistake when filing her assets declaration form by failing to convert square feet into square meters, thus causing a misunderstanding.
Kao asked: “So, that is to say that as soon as Lee took office, she hurriedly transferred a large amount of funds to purchase a property in the US. She also spends extended amounts of time in the US each year. Could it be that she is planning to immigrate to the US as an investor? Does she have a green card?”
All of these factors, if true, are likely to worsen voters’ resentment of Lee, increasing the likelihood of a recall.
After all, since the start of the legislative session last year, the KMT has been shamelessly pro-China, anti-Taiwan and suspicious of the US. In November, Donald Trump won the US presidential election and nominated the pro-Taiwan US senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Despite this, Lee said Taiwan should not be overly optimistic when the first agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade came into force in December. From this, Lee’s intent to sow distrust between the US and Taiwan is clear.
Although Lee has been revealed to own a mansion in the US, she has yet to clarify just how much the property is worth, nor has she responded to questions about investment immigration or owning a green card. If even a KMT legislator behaves this way, just how many other KMT members are like her — publicly raising suspicions about the US, while privately investing huge sums into the US? Saying one thing, but doing another, how can voters not be disillusioned by this behavior?
All Taiwanese must recognize that KMT legislators are only interested in reaping benefits from the US and Taiwan — they have no intention of taking any risks or responsibility. So long as they possess power, they will act to maximize their advantage. However, once things start to go awry, they will simply walk away — such is their shameless and despicable nature. We must not allow them to continue to hold political power. We must actively stand up to recall corrupt, two-faced politicians like Lee. Only those politicians who prioritize Taiwan should be given the honor of serving the public.
John Yu is a civil servant in Taipei.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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