Taipei mayor’s son receives publicly funded exchange place as rule change sparks favoritism claims

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s eldest son, Chiang Te-li, has received city funding for a year-long exchange program in the United States and Canada, prompting accusations that the rules were changed for him.

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The 2024 rules were indeed changed by the city government. The difference from the rules used for Chiang Wan-an’s son is that ‘inability to obtain visa eligibility’ became ‘inability to obtain a visa or placement.’

Online users compared Taipei’s international exchange-student plans from different school years. They noted that the 2024 rules said applicants would lose eligibility if they could not obtain a visa, while the 2026 rules added the words “or placement.”

One user argued that the revised wording could allow Chiang’s son to be placed even without obtaining a visa. The post suggested he could enter the United States using a U.S. passport and study at a high school with financial support from Taipei taxpayers. Other users accused the mayor of granting his child special treatment and acting for his family’s benefit.

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It looks like they had decided to use U.S. nationality to enter and attend high school with subsidies from Taipei taxpayers.

Liberty Times’ review, however, found that the relevant provision had already been changed in the 2025 school-year plan. That version used the same wording as the 2026 rules, meaning the change did not first appear in the year of Chiang’s son’s application.

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Who can still say he has no privileges?