Questions grow over Taipei mayor’s son receiving award as school lists past winners

Questions over a special mayoral award given to Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s eldest son have returned after online users compared his record with those of recent winners at National Taiwan Normal University Affiliated Senior High School’s junior high division.

The controversy forms part of wider criticism over whether Chiang properly avoided conflicts of interest in matters involving his son’s education and extracurricular activities. The son, Chiang Te-li, received the award after graduating from the school’s junior high division this year.

Lawyer Lin Chih-chun shared an online compilation of the school’s special mayoral award recipients from the past two years. Among last year’s three winners was a student selected for Taiwan’s national figure-skating team for four consecutive years, with gold medals at Southeast Asian and other international competitions. Another had won first place in composition at the national student music competition three times, received a top international composition prize and had work invited to the United States. A third had won first place twice in the national music competition.

The other two graduates recognized this year included a student who won first place in the handwriting category of a Mandarin-language competition and second place in calligraphy at a Taipei art competition. Another had given four publicly ticketed music performances. The “special outstanding achievements” field for Chiang Te-li was blank. He received the award for long-term participation in scouting and passing the organization’s highest-level scouting examination.

“Everyone can judge whether someone pulled strings for Chiang,” Lin wrote. Comments under his post included claims that the other winners were exceptionally accomplished and questions about whether Taipei had no one who could surpass a scout.

The school said in a statement that scouting was added to the special mayoral award criteria on February 16, 2022, because large-scale service-learning activities at school events, ceremonies, competitions, anniversary receptions and fairs require scouts. It emphasized that the award was selected according to established rules and procedures, without different treatment based on a student’s family background or parents’ identities.

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Everyone can judge whether someone pulled strings for Chiang.