Taipei Mayoral candidates Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday defended the lineups of their election teams, after they have been criticized for allegedly giving posts to family members of government officials.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) on Monday posted a picture of Chen’s campaign team on Facebook, including their names and telephone numbers, saying that several of them are the daughter or son of government officials.
Chen’s campaign team decried the publication of the picture, saying that revealing staff’s personal data is against the law and Hsu should apologize.
Photo: CNA
Hsu later removed the picture, but posted it again with the names and phone numbers blacked out.
“This pan-green camp’s second-generation fleet is such a big bonus to the team,” she wrote.
DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄), Chen’s election campaign spokesman, on Tuesday said Hsu and Chiang’s campaign team should explain how they obtained the telephone numbers and whether they used illegal means to do so.
Staff at the campaign headquarters are not the campaign’s window to the public, so their contact information should not have been made public, Chuang said, urging Chiang to declare whether he approves of such methods.
DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) posted a list of Chiang’s campaign team on Facebook, including whether their parents have served as legislators or government officials.
However, Hsu Chih-chieh wrote that as long as they are willing to make an effort for the nation, it does not matter whether they are from a politically influential family.
Chiang, being from a political family himself, would be given his fair chance by voters in Taipei, he added.
Making public the names and family connections of staff members who are not public figures is appropriate, he said, adding that he does not understand why Chiang’s team is “slapping itself in the face.”
Chiang is a great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), grandson of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), and son of former KMT vice chairman and legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴).
Chiang Wan-an yesterday said his team comprises many elected representatives, who would not try to hide their family backgrounds, nor become angry when their names are made public or try to have their information blacked out on confidentiality grounds.
The DPP candidate said that people can criticize any second-generation political figure whom they think is underqualified for their job and got the post based on family connections.
Members of his team who come from political families hold basic-level positions, Chen said, adding that his campaign enables them to learn how to conduct political campaigns at the grass-roots level.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS