Taipei Mayor’s Eldest Son’s School Enrollment Draws Favoritism Questions; Education Bureau Says Rules Were Followed

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s eldest son, Chiang Te-li, has faced public scrutiny over his enrollment at the junior-high division of National Taiwan Normal University Affiliated High School.

The controversy intensified after Chiang Te-li passed Taipei’s Education Bureau international exchange student program for an exchange in the United States and Canada. Questions also arose over how he could attend a school in Taipei’s Da’an District when Chiang Wan-an had previously represented Zhongshan District as a legislator.

Before appearing at the Taipei City Council, Chiang Wan-an was asked whether he felt upset that his son had been criticized and turned into internet memes. He said the child should be given space and that his privacy should be respected. Asked whether Chiang Te-li had already gone abroad, the mayor repeated that his son’s privacy needed protection.

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We must give him space, and this is the child’s privacy, which still needs to be protected.

On the question of the student’s enrollment status, Chiang said it complied with the relevant rules, including local school-district and qualification requirements. “There is no problem,” he said.

Taipei’s Education Bureau said admission to the school’s junior-high division follows the regulations governing the distribution and enrollment of new students at Taipei public junior high schools and junior-high divisions attached to senior high schools. It said all students were admitted according to the rules.

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This has no problem.