One of the nation's 10-most wanted fugitives, former Tuntex Group president Chen Yu-hao (
The fugitive's letters had been faxed from China to several pan-blue camp legislators.
However, while the much of the media attention was focused yesterday on whether the president had accepted any contributions from the tycoon, many people wondered how the businessman could be investing so heavily in China given the size of the debts he left in Taiwan.
Chen Yu-hao was charged with embezzling NT$800 million from Tung Hua Development Corp and owes more than NT$23 billion to state-run banks.
The Taipei District Court had issued an arrest warrant for him last May when it listed him and his wife, Lin Fu-mei (
According to a report by the Win-Win Weekly last July, the tycoon and his companies have debts as much as NT$100 billion in this country.
This includes money owed by Grand Union Construction Co, a major holding company that changed its name from Tuntex Group Construction Co; Tung Hua Development Corp, which built the Daguan housing district in Hsintien City; Tuntex Distinct Corp and Tuntex Petrochemicals, in which Chen Yu-hao owns 50 percent of the shares.
He reportedly arrived in Beijing on June 13 last year.
He remains an influential magnate in the US, Thailand and China. In particular the Xiamen Xianglu Group, which paid more than 600 million yuan in taxes last year, has set a stable foundation for him to cultivate his influence in China, where his businesses are growing.
He helped build Donglian Mansion near Beijing's Desheng Gate in partnership with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Beijing City Government. The building houses some city government offices.
The tycoon has said the Tuntex group now exists in name only in Taiwan. Over the past few years, he has divided the conglomerate into independent entities so that the good companies could avoid being encumbered by the financially unsound ones.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
RSS