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.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit