Rebar + bank runs

Politics Taiwan Politics
1

It is interesting that the “green” TV News coverage of the Rebar scandal appears to be relatively neutral, pointing out of course, that Rebar Group chairman Wang You-theng (王又曾) has been a member of the [KMT’s] Central Standing Committee for a long time. (TT) But I don’t hear any journalists asking any presumptuous questions like whether this means the leader of the KMT should “Xia tai” or anything.

I could just imagine if the guilty man was a DDP high-up. This scandal would then have a completely different flavour. It would be another “Chen scandal.” But watch Ma get away unscathed in the media. I hate these double standards.

As it is, the KMT voiceboxes are trying to paint it all as a DPP failure. Their points seem quite valid. The FSC, which is pretty much DPP-controlled I believe (not sure) seems to have handled the Rebar group with kid gloves and acted too slow to prevent Wang and some of the other crooks from escaping to their motherland.

[quote] The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) should have stepped in sooner than it did, KMT Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) told a press conference.

Tsai added that the FSC should be abolished as “it is as useless as an appendix.”

KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said FSC officials had turned a blind eye to what had been going on at The Chinese Bank since November last year.

“We suspect that the FSC gave the Rebar Group too much free rein. About two months ago, FSC Chairman Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉) guaranteed [the bank’s ability to operate]. Can he explain how the run on the bank happened?” Lai asked.

The government wouldn’t have had to waste taxpayers’ money on bailing out The Chinese Bank if the FSC had done its job better, KMT Legislator Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠) said.

“This incident proves that the government is not capable of managing problematic financial institutions. As a result, a conglomerate made large sums of money and taxpayers were saddled with debt,” she said.[/quote]

It had just 31 members in 2001 according to that link.

2

How do you like that? Proves theres always an upside?a silver lining somewhere?

Last night a Rebar employee, at least thats what he claims to be, walked away with 8 million NT in lottery prize.

Yes he is looking at an uncertain future, job and pension in jeopardy because of the situation with his employers, and he got lucky at the lotto office.

And whats more incredible is according to the news, the winning ticket is one that the previous customer on the line had to give up because of insufficient pocket change.

Its also reported somewhere that he was having his post purchase foot massage for an hour or so next door when he got the news. :sunglasses:

3

dsaf

4

Well, right-wing talk show host, I mean, mayor, Ma Ying-jeou was not at a loss for words to explain the significance of the Rebar case and the runaway kingpin. From the Taipei Times: (See [color=red]Red [/color]below.)

[quote]Su, speaking at a separate event yesterday morning, said “the [Rebar] case is just like a time bomb.”

“This bomb has been ticking for more than a decade, and it just so happened that it was I who was holding the bomb when it blew up,” he said.

Referring to the government’s decision to intervene and take over The Chinese Bank, Su said that the government was not using taxpayer’s money funds to reimburse depositors.

According to the regulations of the Financial Reconstruction Fund, the government must not only take over a troubled bank, but must ensure that all depositors can withdraw their money, he said.

Meanwhile, opposition parties continued to find fault with the government’s handling of the scandal.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) condemned Chen for what he described as turning a blind eye to the scandal, urging the president to apologize to the public.

“[Rebar Group founder] [color=red]Wang You-theng (王又曾) accompanied President Chen seven times on diplomatic trips and has close ties with the government. That is why financial overseers couldn’'t handle the scandal,[/color]” Ma said during a trip to Taoyuan County.

Wang was a senior member in the KMT.

Ma added that [color=red]Su should take partial responsibility for “failing to solve” the financial crisis, and although Shih had resigned on Friday, Chen’s “close ties” with Wang made the president the one who should shoulder responsibility.

“It’s unfair to ask Shih, who took over the position not long ago, to take responsibility,” he added. “We should find out the backstage manipulator who was influencing policy.”[/color]

Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (李南陽) called Ma’s remarks “unfair.”[/quote]

Repeat after me: “The fact that he was a longtime member of the KMT Central Standing Committee doesn’t matter.”

My question: Why can Ma be so brazenly prejudiced in his analysis? Isn’t he worried at all that people will see through such flimsy posing?

5

Well doesnt that put it squarely back in the previous KMT administration in the timeline.

But the problem here is not so much partisan; ie which party to be apportioned more blame, rather the potential pitfalls facing any family businesses once they re taken public. You just cant go on treating company assets as private expenses.

Theres have been illegal loans made from the Chinese Bank to other affiliate companies in the group.

Its in fact a lot like the predicament Chairman Ma is facing over his public affairs fund. Theres no clear delineation between whats company/city money and personal accounts.

6

Think Su is going to be sacked by Chen and DPP? Somebody has to be scapegoated.

Since now it appears that Chen and Wang have a quasi-buddy-buddy relationship, Chen again has some explaining to do. :howyoudoin:

7

Will there be more fainting in Taiwan’s courts when the case goes to trail.

8

Not sure, but perhaps because of the China angle(Patriarch Wang fled to the mainland with his wife no 4 and most of the embezzled money has been reinvested there) a pro Peking prosecutor will suffer a mental breakdown?!

9

How the fuck does anyone paint this as political? Isn’t it just the latest Taiwan story of white-collar scumbag criminals fleecing the public and fleeing to China?

Doesn’t matter if they were blue, green, yellow or pink. It’s got nothing to do with politics and everything to do with crass, petty greed and a complete lack of honesty, morals, class, integrity and social upbringing, right?

10

Well, the CCP must be extremelly happy with so many crooks showing up there with bags full of stolen money - talk about reinvesting in China…

I think, that as token of good will, they could just ship a dozen of them to be judged over here, no? Because they do ship out the small guys who rob some security money cars… so why not the guys who embezzle or simply just steal some billions? Oh wait, they would come here and be running for elections…

Anyway, it is funny that absolutely no one (either because of professionalism or are blue) are not talking about the real deal:
a) the guy is a WSR (from the FT)
b) the guy is a high figure on the KMT (well, pretty much everywhere)
c) the guy must have had a lot of meals with Ma and friends (logic assumption)
d) the guy owned a bank and some big companies in TW, so, it is logic to assume that is power against the government was also pretty much big - kind of “I have to close down everything and throw to unemployment all my employees unless you help me” talk…

11

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]How the fuck does anyone paint this as political? Isn’t it just the latest Taiwan story of white-collar scumbag criminals fleecing the public and fleeing to China?

Doesn’t matter if they were blue, green, yellow or pink. It’s got nothing to do with politics and everything to do with crass, petty greed and a complete lack of honesty, morals, class, integrity and social upbringing, right?[/quote]

um, what he said… :bravo: …cowardly cunt of a man to run away and hide in china…

the enron fiasco was worse but at least most of the bosses ended up in court…

12

He’s apparently fled from China to the US now. Nice one.

13

Hopefully that will turn out to have been a bad move on his part. Hopefully.

14

well… they cannot extradite the dude… (you know, no official relationships blah blah, blame it on “you-know-who”).

15

I was entertained reading today’s Taipei Times. It seems the DPP government wants Interpol and the US government to help find the Rebar chairman and his wife.

The US should laugh in the faces of the Taiwanese authorities. Does anyone remember the “Taiwanese hostess/hooker” Julia Cutie, the New York hooker who kidnapped her child and came to Taiwan, despite New York state court rulings? Does anyone remember reading the stories in the press, the stories that called her the "daughter of Taiwan?

Funny, I don’t think most Taiwanese want their daughters to be high price hookers in New York that sell their bodies for 250 dollars an hour. As far as I know, Julie Cutie is still in Taiwan and Mr. Sartin, a wealthy Park Avenue businessmen, was so angry with Taiwan he left the country with little hope of gaining the rightful custody of his daughter. Su Tseng chang is behind efforts to negotiate with AIT. If I were the AIT, I would make it conditional on Julie Cutie handing the kid over to Mr. Sartin, thus obeying a New York ruling and Interpol.
The Blues and Su’s pro green detractors should bring up the Julie Cutie case to make him look even more incompetent and hypocritical.

[url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2007/01/16/2003344971] A wealthy fugitive couple has been placed on the most-wanted list, with law enforcement officials saying they are now seeking the assistance of Interpol and the US government, as the two have fled China and are now in the US.

The fugitives, Rebar Asia Pacific Group (力霸亞太企業集團) chairman Wang You-theng (王又曾) and his wife Wang Chin Shyh-ying (王金世英), are at the center of a major financial scandal and are believed to have stolen and embezzled millions of dollars before going on the lam.

Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office spokesman Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) said yesterday that prosecutors have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to cancel the couple’s “Republic of China, Taiwan” passports in a bid to restrict their movements.

But prosecutors believe the couple hold passports from other countries.

" “We have asked our representative offices in the US to confirm [the couple’s presence in the US] with US agencies. But because of the time difference and the fact that it is Martin Luther King Jr Day, a US national holiday, we have not obtained a response so far,” David Wang said.

David Wang also said that the MOFA had alerted the US and other countries that Wang You-theng might engage in international money laundering.

Taiwan can seek the US’ assistance under the Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement on Criminal Matters between Taiwan and the US signed in 2002. However, because Taiwan has no official diplomatic relation with the US, it cannot ask the US to extradite Wang, David Wang said.

David Wang had no comment on whether the Executive Yuan had been tipped off about the Wangs’ whereabouts through the AIT."[/url]

16

Are you crazy? What about Mr Wang decisive November 2007 press conference from SF or LA?

17

More recent history. Back when Pasuya Yao still ran the GIO in 05. His attempt to revoke the license of ETTV got frustrated by KMT legislators and ETTV is an affiliate of Wang’s group. So there may be something to the fact that being a high ranking KMT thief makes one feel more invincible than just being a thief.

18

No, mr. boogie was right. The scoundrel’s apparently home free once he makes it to the States, due to the lack of an extradition treaty.

Going back a few years, remember the lady with a high level govt job in broadcasting who was suspected of stealing a large sum and was ordered not to leave Taiwan. So the next morning she hops a flight to the US and, when accosted by reporters in Los Angeles, claims she just wanted to go visit her teenage son who was attending school in the US, but of course she would return to Taiwan to straighten out the silly legal mess as soon as she finished her personal visit. And of course she never did, as far as I know.

Seems strange, but apparently Taiwan citizens can do all manners of wrongs, stealing huge sums, facing criminal charges, receiving orders not to leave the country, but as soon as they make it to the US, they’ve got nothing to worry about. They can’t return to this shithole, but that seems a small price to pay.

19

seems everyone is forgetting that one of the biggest aiders of Mr Chou Yi is a wanted citizen who gives press conferences in the US…

20

Now it appears that there are even more financial irregularities in other companies, and government regulators didn’t bother to keep an eye on it.

This is getting good. I am eagerly waiting for the finger pointing. :smiley: