Taiwan's overseas community affairs chief is now a formal target of a prosecutors' investigation over accusations she bent the rules to get her son onto a restricted island trip — bad news for her and for the ruling party's clean-government image.

• The Taiwan People's Party filed a complaint accusing Overseas Community Affairs Council head Hsu Chia-ching of abusing her position to create a Dongsha Island eco-camp slot for her son.
• Taipei prosecutors have opened a case file and named her a defendant under suspicion of profiteering.
• The watchdog Control Yuan already fined her in June for failing to recuse herself from a conflict of interest.
• She says the camp had run for years but only filled up once, her son qualified as a dual-national overseas youth, and she only asked him to join to make up the numbers.
• Her one admitted error: signing the paperwork sent to the defense ministry despite the conflict, which cost her a fine.

Outlook: Prosecutors will decide whether the case moves past preliminary investigation, keeping political pressure on the ruling party.