A Taichung city contract worth NT$14 million went to a company chaired by Mayor Lu Shiow-yen's sister, and the city's answer to conflict-of-interest questions has drawn ridicule.

• The publicity contract for Taichung's hotpot and barbecue festival went to CTV, chaired by Lu Shiow-fang, the mayor's sister.
• CTV won under a "most advantageous tender" process, not lowest price, which gives officials more discretion.
• Asked in council whether the mayor should have recused herself, the economic development chief said procurement law only requires him to recuse himself, and that Lu Shiow-fang is not his sister.
• Doctor Tu Cheng-che mocked the reply, saying that was obviously not the question being asked.
• Online reaction piled on, calling it a textbook case of answering a question nobody asked.

Outlook: Expect opposition councillors to keep pressing on the tender process, with the mayor herself likely to face the recusal question directly.