According to a recent report, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is delighted to welcome a so-called “the largest investment in the Philippines” to be made by a Taiwanese most wanted economic criminal Mr. You Hao CHEN, the founder and the chief executive of Xianglu Dragon Group in China. The proposed investment includes generating USD 360 billion to develop a 3,000-hectare mixed-use special economic zone in Pangasinan and spending 12 billion Pesos to build a 85-story highest IT building along Roxas Boulevard in Manila.
On behalf of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the TECO, acting in good faith, wishes to state that CHEN is an out-and-out economic criminal which has nothing to do with politics. The facts are that CHEN was issued a circular order of arrest on 14 January, 2014 by Taiwan Taipei District Court during the Kuomintang (KMT) Administration to which CHEN belonged and he was a KMT member. The order was not issued by the current Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Administration. This is the evidence that this case is not politically motivated. This case is purely an economic criminal case.
CHEN is a notorious Taiwanese fugitive swindler. CHEN was the former CEO of Tuntex Group in Taiwan. He was prosecuted by the Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutors Office on account of fraud, unlawful embezzlement and other serious economic crimes of defrauding more than NTD 800 millions (equivalent to 1.32 billion pesos). As a result, he has been officially indicted and wanted by the Taiwan Taipei District Court since January 14, 2014.
However, he subsequently escaped from Taiwan and fled away to Xiamen, China. CHEN and his Tuntex Group left nothing beneficial to the Taiwanese people but owed Taiwan government at least NTD 415 million (equivalent to 684.75 million pesos) tax arrears and defrauded the Taiwanese banks and investors over NTD 70 billions (equivalent to 115.50 billion pesos).
As an economic criminal, CHEN took the fraudulent capital to Xiamen and became the founder and the chief executive of Xianglu Dragon Group. His new Group invested RMB 3.88 billion for PX Chemical Zone in Fujian Province of China with the said proceeds of crimes from Taiwan. Nevertheless, the new Group’s deficit has been reaching RMB 2 billion due to the poor management and a series of horrible petrochemical industrial explosions and serious pollution in the said PX Chemical Zone in April, 2015. Now CHEN is stuck in the mire of cash flow gap. If he can not find a new financing source, his Xianglu Dragon Group will never afford the RMB 15.7 billion debt due and will go bankrupt. He needs to find another suitable place/country to repeat his criminal business model and it seems that his new target place is the Philippines.
Although CHEN’s huge investment projects seem beneficial to the Philippine people and its economy at first appearance, it actually will not only have negative impact on the Philippines’ good image and foreign direct investment (FDI), but also will put the whole country into a very high financial and legal risk and even adversely affects the reputation and credibility rating of this country. There is a high probability that the Taiwanese and even the Chinese creditors especially the tax authorities, investors and banks may file as many lawsuits as they can against CHEN and his investment projects in the Philippines. And the proceeds of the crimes may also be confiscated through the existing anti-money laundry mechanism or/and mutual legal assistance channel.
Therefore, the TECO has already filed a formal request to call on the relevant Philippine authorities to be vigilant and reject this notorious crook’s highly risky investment projects derived from CHEN’s ill-gotten capital and assets from Taiwan and also urged the Philippine legal enforcement agencies, especially the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to arrest this notorious economic fugitive criminal immediately and deport him back to Taiwan, the country of origin, to face justice as soon as possible.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines
23 August, 2017, Metro Manila
