Less than 24 hours after returning to Taipei from New York, the president's son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) yesterday made public his passport, aimed at debunking accusations leveled against him by an opposition lawmaker.
At an informal press conference yesterday afternoon, lawyer Lin Chih-hao (
"These official documents say it all," Lin said. "They clearly prove that Chen possesses an F-1 student visa and a valid EAD."
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
"He did not apply for immigration status with investments in the US as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) charged," Lin said, adding that it is impossible for the EAD to be duplicated because of a chip that is embedded in the card.
Lin showed two passports belonging to Chen, an old one which is no longer valid and a new one which has "Taiwan" on its cover.
"As you can see [Chen's] signatures are the same on the two passports as well as the EAD," Lin said.
"The reason why he needed this new passport was because he liked the fact that Taiwan was written on the cover page, so he applied for the newer version," he said.
The name on Chen's passport was in Wade-Giles romanization, not Hanyu pinyin as Chiu alleged.
"Chiu accused Chen of using a different spelling of his name and signature, applying for immigration with investments in the US and possessing more than one passport. Now, I think all his accusations have been answered," Lin said.
Lin said his client decided to make public his official documents yesterday morning.
"Now that [Chen] is back, he decided to make everything clear and rebut Chiu's accusations with proof," Lin added.
In related news, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday urged the opposition to put a stop to its smear campaign against Chen and his wife now that the couple have returned home.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Huang-liang (
Tsai regretted that it has been claimed that, should the DPP lose Saturday's municipal elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung, the couple would be held accountable.
He added that speculation had caused "unbearable pressure" on the young couple.
Stressing that where the couple lives has nothing to do with the upcoming election, Tsai urged the opposition camp to shift their focus to major policy issues and respect the president's son and daughter-in-law's privacy.
KMT legislator Tsai Chin-lung (
He added that the couple's return was "not a big deal," and only meant that the president had delivered on his word and that the KMT would not touch on the subject again.
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