By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice presidential candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) disclosed his family’s assets yesterday, trying to end a string of rumors and accusations from his political opponents to avoid further risk to the DPP’s presidential campaign.
Lawyers detailed the assets of Su, his wife, Hong Heng-chu (洪恆珠), and their two daughters at a press conference held at DPP headquarters in Taipei after conducting a week-long review of Su’s financial status.
A joint review by lawyers Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠) and Hom Su-je (洪士傑) found that Su holds an estimated NT$8 million (US$265,610) in cash, possesses an inherited house and four plots of land, and has neither debts nor investments.
Hong holds NT$9.13 million in cash, a farmhouse in Pingtung County that has been a source of controversy, four plots of land, a car, NT$3.89 million in mutual funds and has debts of NT$4 million, Hom said.
Su’s two daughters, who co-own an apartment in Pingtung City, hold NT$4.55 million and NT$9.32 million in cash respectively, and an estimated NT$1.6 million in mutual funds, Hom said.
His elder daughter also owns a house in Sanchong District (三重), New Taipei City (新北市), the lawyer said.
The Su family owns four houses, Hom told the press conference, adding that the review includes the family’s savings, investments in the stock market and mutual funds, life insurance policies and real estate.
Su announced on Oct. 18 that he would donate the farmhouse and the farmland on which it stands to Changjhih Township (長治), Pingtung County, to end months of controversy surrounding the assets, adding that he had authorized lawyers to review and disclose his family’s assets within a week.
On behalf of Su, who did not attend the press conference, Hom said the vice presidential candidate intended to “hold himself and his family to the highest moral standards” by disclosing their assets, even though a presidential candidate’s children are not legally required to report their financial status.
In all, the Su family’s assets, after deduction of all debts, were a lot less than the NT$100 million that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said the family had, DPP spokesperson Kang Yu-cheng (康裕成) said.
Chiu has launched a series of attacks on Su and his family over their assets and other allegations of misconduct in the past two months, reportedly hurting the support rate for DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Su.
“The DPP urges President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) — the KMT’s presidential ticket — to follow Su’s lead and reveal the assets of their families, because double standards cannot be tolerated,” Kang said.
In related news, the DPP dismissed the latest of Chiu’s accusations. The KMT legislator said Su has been trying to sell one of his houses in Pingtung City through a housing agency.
“The family did not put the house up for sale nor has it authorized anyone to sell the asset,” DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said, adding that the party was considering legal action against Chiu.