Wed, Mar 03, 2004 page4

• Wayward cousin eyes Chen's home

  UP FOR GRABS As if an election wasn't enough to worry about, the president might have to face returning to three-quarters of a house, if his pesky cousin gets his way

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  He's back.

  Chen Tien-fu (陳天福), a businessman and cousin of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), is noted for his creative salesmanship in the run-up to presidential elections. And this time he hasn't failed to disappoint, attempting to auction off a quarter of the family's house in Kuantien township, Tainan County.

  

  Prospective bidders? No, just supporters of President Chen Shui-bian, visiting the Chen family home in Kuantien township, Tainan County, on Jan. 22 to receive auspicious red envelopes for the Lunar New Year holiday.

  TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO

  But this might be news to most of the rest of the Chen clan.

  Claiming ownership of a quarter of the 378m2 family house, Chen Tien-fu opened bidding for the property segment at 11pm on Monday on Yahoo!Kimo, with an opening price of NT$1.

  The bidding period is scheduled to close at 12am on March 15. As of press time, over 300 bidders had made offers, with the bidding price reaching NT$920 million.

  In his introductory statement on the Web site, Chen Tien-fu encouraged those interested in "jointly sharing a piece of President Chen Shui-bian's family house" not to miss out on the golden opportunity.

  "This is a serious business transaction," he said.

  "We'll carry out our duties and rights in accordance with the law after the bidding is closed," he said.

  Chen Tien-fu claimed that he, his brother Chen Chin-tsai (陳進財) and his mother jointly own one-quarter of the house.

  When asked by the Taipei Times if he could produce any documents to prove ownership, Chen Tien-fu became defensive and said that those who doubted that he owned the house should produce evidence to verify those doubts.

  "It's like they're asking me whether I can prove the legality of my marriage," he said.

  "I say that they should produce evidence to prove that my wife and I are not husband and wife," he said.

  But he did concede that his name was indeed not on any of the house documents -- but his grandfather's name was.

  "I'm one of his grandsons. So there's no doubt that I own one-quarter of the family home," he said.

  FAMILY MATTERS

  Chen Tien-fu's grandfather had four sons. Two married into the families of their wives, leaving Chen Sung-ken (陳松根) -- the father of Chen Shui-bian -- and his brother Chen Shui-sung (陳水盛) each with a claim to half of the family's assets.

  Theoretically, therefore, the president and his brother Chen Wen-shou (陳文狩) own a quarter of the house each while Chen Tien-fu and his brother Chen Chin-tsai (陳進財) own the other two quarters.

  Chen Tien-fu said one of the reasons he was auctioning his share of the family home was to raise money for his 72-year-old mother, who he claims suffers from heart disease and high blood pressure.

  He also expressed dissatisfaction over the media politicizing a "purely business transaction."

  "I'm a businessman, not a politician. I really don't get it why the media is making this out to be a political matter," he said.

  If this remark sounds familiar, you're not alone.

  In the run-up to the 2000 presidential election, Chen Tien-fu sued Chen Shui-bian, saying he had been hurt by his prominent cousin's remarks about his past record of fraud.

  Chen Tien-fu had allegedly used Chen Shui-bian's name to seek business opportunities on a number of occasions, including a bid involving construction projects with Taipei City Government in 1997.

  In 1997, when he was Taipei mayor, Chen Shui-bian ordered the city government to report any suspicious actions on the part of Chen Tien-fu and Chen Chin-tsai. He was reacting to media reports alleging his cousins were trading on his name.

  Chen Tien-fu, for his part, denied using the name of his cousin.

  "I'm a businessman, not a politician. I really don't get it why I'm getting caught up in these political matters," he said.

  Chen Tien-fu said the 1997 bidding fiasco was the result of incorrect media reports. He also said the prosecutor in charge of the case had established that another man had claimed to be Chen Shui-bian's cousin.

  Later, in March 2000, then-independent legislator Lin Ruey-tu (林瑞圖) claimed that Chen Shui-bian was party to a NT$200-million loan scandal involving a city lottery scheme while mayor.

  Chen Tien-fu and Chen Chin-tsai were later indicted for fraud after forging Chen Shui-bian's signature to support their claim that he had defrauded a Malaysian company backing the scheme.

  Chen Tien-fu was arrested at CKS International Airport upon returning to Taiwan from China in May 2001 but was released on NT$200,000 bail.
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