Chan Kai-kit

Chan Kai-kit
陳繼杰
Member of Legislative Assembly of Macau
In office
1996 – 19 December 1999
Succeeded byIong Weng-ian
Personal details
Born
Chio Ho-cheong

(1950-03-23) 23 March 1950 (age 74)
Thailand
NationalityPortugal[1]
Political partyMacau Economy and People's Livelihood Promotion Association

Tommy Chan Kai-kit (born 23 March 1950), born Chio Ho-cheong,[2] is a Macanese businessman who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Macau and of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Following the revelation that Chan was the mastermind behind the fraud case of Guangnan Holding, he was wanted by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). His whereabouts have since remained unknown.[1]

Family

In 1950, Chan Kai-kit was born in a Chinese family in Thailand,[3] whose roots can trace back to Sanjiang, Hainan.[4] Chan's grandfather left Hainan for Thailand because of poverty, and married a member of a Thai royal family.[who?] Chan, whose father was a tycoon in Thailand,[5] was therefore a descendant of the Thai royal.[4][6]

Two years later, Chan and his family moved to Guangzhou. After graduating from Guangzhou's high school, he studied the Thai language in Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok for two years.[7] He was then awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Louisiana and, in 1995, in Britain.[8]

Business career

In 1979, Chan started managing his family business, but was forced to give up after relatives' objection.[6] After traveling to Hong Kong in 1982, he set up factories in Zhuhai and Macau to produce plastic gloves amid the spread of AIDS-phobia throughout Europe and America. The venture gave him the first success in business.[5] He went back to Macau in 1985,[2] and founded a dozen more businesses. On 10 June 1992, Chan was awarded the Order of St. George for his contributions to the economic development of Macau and other regions. He became the first Chinese in Macau having a knighthood.[8]

In 1991, Chan met Elsie Chan, who lost the Miss Asia Pageant in 1986. The pair broke up in 1998.[9] During October 1991 and 1993, the two defrauded the Agricultural Bank of China of HK$364 million when purchasing land in Mai Po, Hong Kong.[10][11][12]

Political career

In December 1993, the United States Congress approved appointing Chan as the first Macanese special adviser. He received the certificate and a flag of the United States in January 1994, which is the only U.S. flag permitted by the Macanese authorities to fly.[6] In August 1994, Chan founded the first province-level townsmen group,[6] the Macau Hoi Nam Association,[8] and was elected the leader.[13] In September 1996, Chan ran for the Legislative Assembly under the party of "Macau Economy and People's Livelihood Promotion Association",[14] and received the highest number of votes amongst all candidates,[15] banishing Fernando Chui, who would become the Chief Executive of Macau, from re-election. While claims of bribery were investigated during the election, there was eventually no conclusion.[16]

In January 1998, Chan was appointed the Macanese deputy to the 9th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC),[4] and deputy to the Hainan CPPCC.[17] However, The Wall Street Journal in the United States reported the scandal of Bill Clinton, then President of the United States, of receiving political cash, which involved Chan, who once took a photo with Clinton.[18] Two months later, Chan purchased a Ukrainian aircraft carrier with around 150 million dollars. His plan to transform the carrier into a hotel and casino was rejected by the Macanese Government.[18]

Scandal

In November 1998, Goldman Sachs discovered accounting improprieties for Guangnan Holding, which in early 1999 declared an inability to pay for the debts accounting 130 million RMB. Following investigations by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Chan was accused of conspiracy to defraud Guangnan Holding in 1999 along with others. The last appearance of Chan was on 21 April 1998 attending a Legislative Assembly meeting.[7] On 8 June 1999, Chan was officially wanted by the ICAC.[a][1][19][20] As Chan did not apply to stay in the Legislative Assembly after the Transfer of sovereignty over Macau in 1999, the Preparatory Committee for the Macau Special Administrative Region decided in August 1999 to hold a by-election for the vacancy. Iong Weng-ian was elected by the Selection Committee on 20 September 1999 to succeed Chan.[21][22] The whereabouts of Chan remain unknown today.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ ICAC had requested the Legislative Assembly of Macau to authorize the arrest of Chan by the Macanese police, but was declined citing extraterritorial jurisdiction.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Wanted Person: CHIO Ho-cheong". www.icac.org.hk. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  2. ^ a b "大鱷男友掠水兩億 陳奕詩十年傳奇" (in Traditional Chinese). 壹週刊. 2002-06-20.
  3. ^ "陈继杰" (in Traditional Chinese). 国家数字文化网. Retrieved 2010-08-13.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b c "傳為陳奕詩男友澳門立法會議員 陳繼杰擁泰王族血統" (in Traditional Chinese). 天天日報. 1999-06-09.
  5. ^ a b "陳繼杰據說藏身北京" (in Traditional Chinese). Apple Daily. 1999-06-09.
  6. ^ a b c d 林昶（林富權） (1996). 澳門菁英錄（第四集） (in Traditional Chinese). Macau: 澳門出版社.
  7. ^ a b c "何厚鏵拒評趙河暢被緝" (in Traditional Chinese). Hong Kong Commercial Daily. 1999-06-09.
  8. ^ a b c "陈继杰" (in Chinese (China)). 文化蘇州信息網. Retrieved 2010-08-13.[dead link‍]
  9. ^ "亞姐識揀 生活無憂" (in Traditional Chinese). 東方互動. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  10. ^ "疑誇大米埔地價 向中農銀行詐騙 陳奕詩涉食價三億案開審" (in Traditional Chinese). Apple Daily. 2002-04-24.
  11. ^ "農行告陳繼杰兄長索償" (in Traditional Chinese). Wen Wei Po. 2008-04-27. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  12. ^ "陈奕诗卷入诈骗案 与前男友陈继杰等须赔3.5亿余元" (in Traditional Chinese). Sina. 2006-06-03. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  13. ^ "魂牵梦绕故乡情" (in Chinese (China)). Guangming Daily. Archived from the original on 2005-02-18. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  14. ^ "參見" (in Traditional Chinese). Macao Daily. 1996-09-07.
  15. ^ "參見" (in Traditional Chinese). Macao Daily. 1996-09-23.
  16. ^ "活躍澳門商場曾傳賄選醜聞 陳繼杰購母艦欲開酒店" (in Traditional Chinese). Singtao Daily. 1999-06-09.
  17. ^ "为澳门顺利回归尽心竭力" (in Chinese (China)). Guangming Daily. 1998-03-09. Archived from the original on 2004-12-13. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  18. ^ a b "陳繼杰傳奇" (in Traditional Chinese). Apple Daily. 1999-09-10.
  19. ^ "香港廉署拘捕多名涉嫌詐騙陸資高層人員" (in Traditional Chinese). Central News Agency. 1999-06-08.
  20. ^ "86年和平小姐陳奕詩涉詐騙案被捕" (in Traditional Chinese). 東方互動. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  21. ^ "男友顯赫澳門商界並任議員 陳繼杰涉另案潛逃" (in Traditional Chinese). Sing Pao. 1999-09-10.
  22. ^ "第5/1999號行政長官公告《全國人民代表大會澳門特別行政區籌備委員會關於對原澳門最後一屆立法會由選舉產生的議員過渡為澳門特別行政區第一屆立法會議員的資格確認和缺額補充的決定》". 澳門政府公報 (1). 1999-12-20. Archived from the original on 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2010-08-12.

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