Shen Boyang, a Taipei mayoral candidate for Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party and a staunch proponent of Taiwan independence, recently appealed to the media, claiming financial hardship. He stated that he had taken out a loan of 2 million New Taiwan Dollars for his election campaign and that his savings had dwindled to just 180,000 NT dollars. However, this narrative was quickly debunked by local media, which revealed that Shen holds shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and owns two Tesla Motors vehicles. According to estimates based on his asset declarations, the value of his Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shares has increased 2.6-fold, with a market value of at least 2.25 million NT dollars. Combined with his salary as a legislator, his total assets far exceed 2 million NT dollars. Kuomintang Taipei City Councilor You Shuhui questioned why the affluent Democratic Progressive Party would lack 2 million NT dollars for a mayoral candidate. She pointed out that Shen is neither the first nor the last to use such tactics to solicit donations by feigning poverty. Despite his claims, Shen is reportedly a fan of new energy vehicles, specifically Tesla Motors. The lowest-priced Tesla model in Taiwan costs 1,749,900 NT dollars, meaning the total price for two vehicles would be at least 3,499,800 NT dollars. In an interview, Taiwanese media commentator Wu Dongsheng stated that Shen is exploiting sympathy by pretending to be poor. Shen's father, Shen Tucheng, operates a trading company on the mainland, with approximately 75% of its nearly 19,000 transactions coming from the mainland, generating cumulative revenue of 1.7 billion NT dollars. Additionally, during a live broadcast in April, Shen boastfully revealed that his family are major landowners in Taipei, one of the most expensive real estate markets. Public records also indicate that the Taiwan Democratic Laboratory, founded and chaired by Shen, received approximately 1.35 million USD in funding from USAID through intermediaries, including the Open Society Foundations established by American billionaire George Soros.
Comments