The Control Yuan in an asset declaration report issued on Friday last week detailed the wealth of certain high-ranking officials, including valuable property and artwork held by married couple Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and Wang Mei-hua (王美花).
The National Security Council secretary-general and minister of economic affairs own a mansion worth more than NT$130 million (US$4.58 million) in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), as well as nine other buildings and five plots of land, the 170th edition of the report showed.
Of the assets reported on Nov. 1 last year, three plots and two buildings in Taipei’s Wenshan District (文山) are held in a trust.
Photo: Liao Chen-heui, Taipei Times
The couple also have NT$10.83 million in savings across 26 accounts and NT$229,728 in marketable securities.
Of particular note is NT$5.76 million in illiquid assets, including artwork by Yang Hsing-sheng (楊興生), Chang Jung-kai (張榮凱) and others.
Between them, Koo and Wang also have four luxury watches, one of which is worth NT$1.1 million, and two NT$670,000 memberships to a golf course in Taoyuan.
Despite their vast holdings, the couple only have NT$928,445 in debt incurred when they purchased the Beitou property in May 2017.
Deputy Minister of Justice Tsai Pi-chung (蔡碧仲) and former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) also stood out in the report for their 13 plots of land and four properties in Yunlin and Chiayi counties, with six plots and three properties held in trusts.
Between them, they have taken out 29 insurance policies, most of which are investment policies.
The couple also has NT$42.81 million in savings, NT$7.01 million in marketable securities, NT$8.63 million in illiquid assets and NT$4.63 million in domestic stocks for a net worth in excess of NT$60 million.
Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) and his wife, Chang Hsi-yueh (張錫月), in 1993 bought a plot of land and two properties in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), which they supplemented in 2017 with three other plots and two properties in Taipei that are now held in a trust.
Together, they have NT$15.34 million in savings, but most noteworthy are their insurance policies, of which Hsu has seven and Chang Hsi-yueh has 34.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and his wife, Su Ju-yu (蘇如玉), own three properties and a plot of land in Wenshan purchased in 1999, as well as two plots in Changhua County’s Dacheng Township (大城) held in a trust.
The couple have NT$9.16 million in savings and NT$4,430 in marketable securities without any debt or investments, although Su also reported having NT$347,160 in US dollars and a vehicle worth NT$800,000.
Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) and his wife, Chu Hsiao-mei (祝曉梅), own six buildings and a plot of land in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) purchased in 1998, in addition to two buildings and two plots in New Taipei City held in a trust.
The couple has NT$3.46 million in savings, while Chu also holds 4,000 shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which were worth NT$2.53 million as of Tuesday, and a Lexus.
This year’s filing by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and his wife, Chan Hsiu-ling (詹秀齡), shows a contraction of more than NT$5.41 million from 2019. The couple reported NT$26.31 million in savings, four buildings and 10 plots of land, with three building and five plots held in a trust.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS