Chinese National Live-Streams from Hsinchu City Hall; Councilor Tseng Tzu-cheng: Kao Hung-an's Allowing Illegal Live Broadcasts is Collective Dereliction of Duty

Taiwan's Liberty Times reports on a serious breach of security and protocol at Hsinchu City Hall, where a Chinese national allegedly used the popular Chinese platform Douyin (TikTok) to live-stream from within the building.

This incident has sparked outrage among local officials, particularly City Councilor Tseng Tzu-cheng, who has vehemently criticized Mayor Kao Hung-an's administration. Tseng alleges that the city government's inaction in preventing the broadcast constitutes a collective dereliction of duty and a significant compromise of national and cybersecurity. He points to regulations that explicitly prohibit unauthorized photography and recording within city hall premises.

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Mayor Kao Hung-an's allowing Chinese Douyin to illegally live stream is collective dereliction of duty.

The live stream reportedly captured internal office spaces, including the mayor's office and surrounding areas, raising alarms about the potential for sensitive government information to be exposed. Councilor Tseng emphasized that such an intrusion, especially via a platform with Chinese origins, poses an irreversible cybersecurity risk and questions the effectiveness of the city hall's access control and internal security measures.

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The city government's administrative incompetence and disregard for access control regulations have created a situation where external individuals can freely film and broadcast internal configurations, severely threatening public security and national security.

Mayor Kao Hung-an's response, reportedly welcoming visits, has been met with further criticism from Tseng, who argues that this stance ignores clear regulations and undermines the security protocols designed to protect government facilities. The councilor is demanding an investigation into how the individual gained access and why the security personnel did not intervene as mandated by the building's access management guidelines.

This event highlights a broader concern in Taiwan regarding the potential security vulnerabilities associated with Chinese technology platforms and cross-strait interactions. The incident at Hsinchu City Hall serves as a stark reminder of the need for robust security measures and strict enforcement of regulations to safeguard sensitive government information and maintain national security in the face of evolving technological and geopolitical challenges.

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The prohibition of recording is a clear, written rule, yet the city government allowed the streamer to fully disclose internal configurations on an overseas platform. This is not just a system failure; it is serious collective dereliction of duty.