Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) yesterday apologized over reports that she failed to disclose properties she owned in California, but said they were acquired in her name by her father decades ago.
Her comments came a day after former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) accused Lee of concealing her wealth and having a green card allowing permanent residency in the US.
Kao said Lee had purchased and sold 10 properties in California’s Irvine County between 1994 and 2002, citing a Control Yuan report.
Photo: Taipei Times
Lee issued a partial denial, telling a news conference that she owned two properties in the area, but does not have a green card and has never applied for one.
While she was studying at the University of California, Irvine, her father purchased homes so that she would not need to rent a unit or live with others, Lee said.
The properties were in Irvine because it was close to the campus, she said.
Her father, Lee Chin-chuan (李金璋), then a Taipei city councilor, had a stroke and she returned to Taiwan from her graduate program to enter politics, she said, adding that she won a Taipei city councilor seat in 1998.
The failure to disclose her ownership of the properties stemmed from unfamiliarity with election laws, not willful deceit, she said.
“I sincerely apologize for the mistake and will accept any resulting administrative penalties,” Lee Yen-hsiu said.
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