Chen Hsing-yu confirms divorce and clinic property gift issues

Chen Hsing-yu, daughter of former President Chen Shui-bian, has publicly confirmed her divorce from orthopedic surgeon Chao Chien-ming. The announcement follows a series of one-star Google reviews left by Chen at Chao’s clinic, where she criticized his medical competence and alleged personal misconduct involving nursing staff.

Chen revealed that during their marriage, she gifted a clinic property valued at approximately 60 million TWD to Chao. However, she remains responsible for the 60 million TWD mortgage, as bank loan agreements are separate from property ownership. She cautioned others against making similar mistakes, noting that property gifted to a spouse is generally not included in the division of remaining assets upon divorce under Civil Code provisions.

This personal matter has sparked a broader discussion regarding spouse property gifts in Taiwan. Statistics show that property transfers between spouses reached a record high of 1.58 million units last year, often driven by tax optimization strategies such as utilizing the once-in-a-lifetime land increment tax reduction.