DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Taoyuan Mayor Attends School Events Amid 'Mayor of Xindian' Controversy

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • A controversy erupted after students at Wuling High School in Taiwan called Taoyuan Mayor Chang San-cheng "Mayor of Xindian."
  • Some local politicians expressed strong disapproval, while others downplayed the incident as a joke.
  • Mayor Chang attended subsequent school events as scheduled, appearing unaffected by the controversy.

A controversy has emerged in Taiwan after students at Wuling High School reportedly called Taoyuan Mayor Chang San-cheng "Mayor of Xindian" during a graduation ceremony. The incident has sparked debate among local politicians regarding its significance and the school's educational approach.

Mayor Chang normally interacts with young people and jokes around, always very humorously. Mayor Chang and I saw (the relevant posts) and just smiled knowingly, not taking it particularly to heart.

— Ling TaoCity Councilor Ling Tao described Mayor Chang's reaction to the incident.

Taoyuan City Councilor Chan Chiang-tsun of the Kuomintang (KMT) party expressed strong dissatisfaction, criticizing the school's education and posting his views online. He stated that Chang was "continuously yelled at" by students calling him "Mayor of Xindian," deeming it a sign of "failed education."

When I was at the scene, I didn't hear these things at all. There's no need to smear our school with these things!

— Student attendeeA student who attended the Wuling High School graduation ceremony commented on social media.

In contrast, KMT City Councilor Ling Tao, who was present at the event, described Chang's reaction as a "knowing smile." Ling Tao stated he did not perceive any particular issue at the time. Students who attended the ceremony also took to social media to defend their school, with some claiming they did not hear the remarks or that it was merely a "joke" not intended to be a widespread insult.

The so-called Mayor of Xindian, I didn't hear it either. Assuming it really happened, it wasn't to the extent of 'continuous yelling'!

— Student attendeeAnother student attendee questioned the extent of the alleged remarks.

Mayor Chang San-cheng proceeded with his scheduled public appearances, attending the graduation ceremony at Zhensheng High School and later a photo opportunity with award-winning students from various junior and senior high schools. His participation in these events suggests he was not significantly affected by the controversy. He encouraged students to identify their interests and strengths early to build a foundation for their future careers, emphasizing the city government's support for schools in enhancing technological applications, cross-disciplinary learning, and career exploration.

It was clearly a joke, why use it to bully students by leveraging your echo chamber voters?

— Student attendeeA student criticized the political exploitation of the incident.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog