Dispute over Chiang Wan-an’s son winning publicly funded exchange place intensifies

Giving up the public subsidy has not ended the controversy surrounding Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s eldest son, according to lawyer Huang Ti-ying. Huang argues that the central issue is not only the money, but whether conflict-of-interest rules were followed during the selection process.

Chiang’s son, Chiang Te-li, won a place in the Taipei Education Department’s international exchange program, which offered only 25 spots. After public criticism, Chiang announced that his son would forgo the publicly funded exchange opportunity. Huang said that decision still left unresolved questions under Taiwan’s conflict-of-interest law.

Huang also pointed to an earlier mayoral award given to Chiang’s son. Chiang serves as honorary chairman of the Taipei Scout Association, while the junior-high school attended by his son, the affiliated junior high school of National Taiwan Normal University, added a scouting category to its mayoral award criteria in 2022. The son reportedly said he received the award not for academic performance, but for long-term participation in scouting and extracurricular activities.

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Giving up the subsidy does not resolve the conflict-of-interest issue.

Huang alleged that Chiang signed the father’s authorization section on the Education Department application, raising questions about how the selection could be considered fair. He also argued that giving up the subsidy did not return or resolve the issue surrounding the scarce exchange place.

Huang further said Chiang had acknowledged that his son holds U.S. citizenship. In his view, allowing the son to occupy one of the 25 places, regardless of whether he accepted the subsidy, disadvantaged other qualified students without U.S. citizenship or powerful family connections. Huang said the allegations should be investigated and handled under Taiwan’s conflict-of-interest rules, while arguing that the Control Yuan’s current paralysis prevents such action.

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Chiang Wan-an calculated everything carefully and looks bad.