The Los Angeles-based supermarket chain at the center of allegations that it transferred a chunk of its shares to the president's son Chen Chih-chung (
Tawa Supermarkets spokesman Tsao Chi-cheng (曹其崢) said company CEO and chairman Roger Chen (陳河源) had solely owned and operated the chain of Chinese and Asian groceries since he established the first store in 1984.
All shares in Tawa Supermarkets Inc are owned by Roger Chen and his family since Tawa is an "S Corporation" type company, which is prohibited from yielding or transferring part or all of its shares to foreign investors, the spokesman added.
Tawa Supermarkets Inc now has 24 branches in the US, with 13 in southern California, nine in northern California and two in Seattle, Washington, Tsao added.
The supermarket called the news conference after Chen Chih-chung filed a defamation lawsuit against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (
In Taipei yesterday, Chiu persisted with his allegation.
Chiu claimed that Tawa Supermarket had "lied to hide the truth."
"Chen Chih-chung invested in Tawa Supermarket in the name of the company he established," Chiu said. "The company didn't buy Tawa Supermarket's shares. Rather, it invested in other Tawa assets."
Chiu on Wednesday displayed a document showing that a person named "Zhi Zhong Chen" had applied for US citizenship in November last year and was now in the process of acquiring their US green card. Chiu claimed the applicant was Chen Chih-chung with his name spelt in Hanyu pinyin syllables.
Chen Chih-chung, who is living in the US while completing practical training for a law firm, faxed back his "Employment Authorization Card (EAD)" late on Wednesday to his lawyer Lin Chih-hao (林志豪) to prove that his name in English is actually spelt "Chen Chih-chung."
But Chiu claimed that the "EAD" Lin had shown was a forgery.
He displayed a sample EAD he said he had downloaded from a Web site to compare with the copy faxed by Chen Chih-chung.
"There should be a fingerprint on the right side of the card, but there was no fingerprint on the copy provided by Chen Chih-chung," said Chiu. "On his copy, the expiry date was blacked out. What kind of information did he try to hide by showing a false EAD?"
On Wednesday, Lin also showed the landing card Chen Chih-chung used when he went back to the US on Oct. 26, in which Chen's visa type was F1, a student visa that enables foreign nationals to study in the US.
The copy was shown to rebut Chiu's accusation that Chen Chih-chung, as a person who had applied for US citizenship, should use "Form I-131" when returning to the US.
Chiu yesterday also claimed the copy of the landing card was fabricated.
"If Chen's F1 visa is still valid, how could he also hold an EAD?" Chiu said.
Chiu claimed that Chen's EAD was not for employees but for employers because he had established an investment company with capital of US$20 million.
"The headquarters of the company is in downtown LA, and the branch is located in Beverly Hills," Chiu said, but he refused to provide the company's name or any other details.
Chiu yesterday visited the Taiwan Taipei District Court to file suit against Chen Chih-chung and Lin for forging the landing card and EAD, demanding NT$300 million (US$9.2 million) in compensation.
Chiu yesterday reneged on the promise he made on Wednesday that he would give out Chen' Chih-chung's social security number.
Instead, he demanded Chen Chih-chung arrange a time so that they could reveal his social security number together.
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