President William Lai's (賴清德) bank deposits increased by about NT$9.09 million (US$310,769) in one year, according to the latest assets declaration report released by the Control Yuan today.
In the asset declaration report, the Control Yuan said Lai declared on Nov. 1 last year that he had bank deposits totaling NT$11.25 million, up from NT$2.16 million he declared in November 2023, while the president's home mortgage fell by NT$1.4 million from the previous filing to NT$12.46 million.
Photo: Taipei Times
It was the first assets declaration by Lai in his capacity as president for Lai since taking office in May last year. Before that, Lai served as the vice president of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name.
The report showed that Lai also declared the ownership of land and a building located in Tainan's Anping District and one Toyota car, unchanged from the previous declaration.
In addition, the president declared he held NT$11.86 million in marketable securities, which were all US treasuries.
Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) held three parcels of land and seven buildings located in Taipei, New Taipei, Taichung and Tainan cities, according to his latest assets declaration report, with two of the land parcels and two of the buildings placed under trust.
Lin also declared he had NT$119 million in bank deposits, NT$500,000 in cash, NT$268 million in marketable securities and NT$70.59 million in mutual fund beneficiary certificates, according to the report.
The report also showed that National Security Council Secretary General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) declared ownership of three parcels of land and three buildings located in Taipei and Changhua County, with two of the three lots of land in Changhua placed in trust.
Wu also held NT$12.27 million in bank deposits, NT$319,600 in cash, NT$1.24 million in marketable securities and NT$1.24 million in bonds, according to the report.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates