Eastern Multimedia (
Wang You-theng is wanted by authorities for questioning about possible insider trading and embezzlement at the Rebar Group. The scandal was exposed after news that two of the group's affiliates had applied for insolvency led to a run on The Chinese Bank (
The Chinese Bank is a subsidiary of the Rebar Group and is suspected of doling out bad loans to other firms in the group.
Wang You-theng fled to Hong Kong with his wife, Chia Hsin Food & Synthetic Fiber Co (嘉新食品化纖) chairwoman Wang Chin She-ying (王金世英), last month. They are reportedly holed up in a luxury hotel in Shanghai.
"To be frank, my father asked me for money, but I wouldn't give it to him. That's why this crisis came to a head. It's humiliating and regrettable. But we are in an era run by companies -- I couldn't just give him money like that," Gary Wang said in an interview with the Chinese-language United Daily News. "The value systems of our two generations are different."
Wang You-theng left the country on Dec. 30, Gary Wang said, adding that the departure was so secret that none of the Wang family members knew.
"On Dec. 31, he [Wang You-theng] called [his sons, Wang] Lin-i (王令一) and [Wang] Lin-chiao (王令僑) from Hong Kong and told them to come meet him there. He told them that he was finished, that he couldn't face society," Gary Wang said.
"My dad won't come back," he said.
Wang You-theng's sons Lin-i and Lin-chiao are vice chairman of Chia Hsin and vice president of The Chinese Bank, respectively.
Lin-i, the second son of Wang You-theng, is expected to be charged with violating the Securities and Exchange Law (證券交易法), along with his sister Wang Lin-mei (王令楣), who is CEO of China Rebar Co (中國力霸).
Gary, Lin-i, Lin-mei and Lin-chiao are all half-siblings who share a father in Wang You-theng, but all have different mothers.
Wang You-theng has sired eight children by four wives. Wang Chin Shyh-ying is his fourth wife, and is Lin-chiao's mother.
"I really admire my brothers," Gary was quoted as saying, referring to Lin-i and Lin-chiao, who have reportedly refused to flee the country with their father despite the possibility of being convicted on insider trading charges.
"Lin-chiao called me [after returning from Hong Kong] and said, `Dad's in trouble, but we're not leaving [Taiwan]. We're staying,'" Gary said, adding: "They [Lin-i and Lin-chiao] are really filial, and they're stupid sons."
"On New Year's, we were really shocked by this scandal, and on Jan. 2, we [Lin-i, Lin-chiao and Gary] met with our lawyer, who said this was a huge crime, and that we still had time to flee the country," he said. "But Lin-i and Lin-chiao made the decision to stay. Lin-i even gave up his passport and his Mainland Travel Permit. Everybody was telling them to get out now."
Gary said his firm was a separate company and denied involvement in the scandal. He added that Eastern Multimedia had merely accepted "storage and handling fees" from Chia Hsin for a few years, and that "all other transactions were normal."
Eastern Multimedia is in good shape, he added.
Responding to speculation that Wang You-theng is seeking medical treatment in Shanghai, Gary was quoted as saying: "Seeking treatment my foot. Our whole family are devout Buddhists -- just not my dad. Rebar has always been under his complete control, so I never got mixed up with him."
Gary said in a statement yesterday that he would not avoid his responsibility, and would settle with creditors for NT$1 billion (US$30.6 million) in loans made to Chia Hsin Food and Synthetic Fiber Co (嘉新食品化纖) that he guaranteed.
He made the remarks after reports said that creditor banks were demanding that he pay off NT$500 million by Friday, and the remainder of the outstanding loans within one year.
Lead creditor Chang Hwa Bank (彰化銀行) said it has applied for a court order to seize Gary's assets.
In related news, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday announced that it would cancel Wang You-theng's party membership for damaging the party's reputation.
Wang You-theng is a KMT member and a former party Central Standing Committee member.
KMT spokesman Huang Yu-cheng (黃玉振), the party's Taipei City branch yesterday proposed canceling Wang's membership. The proposal will be reviewed and approved by the party's disciplinary committee.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih and Amber Chung
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