Controversy over Chiang Wan-an’s son going to the US: Hsu Po-yang says scrutiny is about procedure, not the child

The controversy over Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s son has shifted toward a dispute over procedure, after a city official claimed that education authorities were checking the boy’s status and the authorities publicly denied it.

Chiang Wan-an’s eldest son, Chiang Te-li, received a Taipei government-funded exchange opportunity, prompting debate about conflict-of-interest rules. Yin Wei, head of the Taipei City Government’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, said the National Education Administration was investigating whether Chiang Te-li was an overseas Chinese student. The Education Ministry agency rejected that claim, saying it had never launched an investigation, inquiry or administrative procedure concerning his status or eligibility for admission.

Hsu Po-yang, a Democratic Progressive Party candidate for Taipei mayor, said the public discussion was about whether the city government had handled the process properly, not about attacking the child. Speaking while visiting Nanmen Market on the 5th, Hsu said he wanted to protect children and urged attention to the city government’s actions and the conflict-of-interest issues involved.

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The focus is on whether the procedure was examined by the highest standards.

Hsu argued that refusing to answer questions or claiming that scrutiny amounted to pressure on the child only pushed the boy further into public view. He also criticized Yin for spreading what he called false information, saying it forced the central government to issue a rebuttal and harmed both the child and the officials involved.

He cited the example of Lin Fang-yu, daughter of former National Taiwan University Hospital president Lin Fang-yu’s father, who said her father had previously barred her from applying through an early recommendation route to NTU’s medical school. Hsu described that as an effort to protect a politician’s child, arguing that stronger conflict-of-interest safeguards would reduce the exposure faced by children of public figures.

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Yin Wei used false information to push the child to the front line again.