A Taipei preschool accused of mistreating children used a handwritten thank-you note from Mayor Chiang Wan-an to recruit families, and the city's response is drawing criticism as too weak.

• The school put the mayor's letter in its marketing, leaving parents to assume city hall had vouched for it.
• Former staff say managers claimed the mayor's own child attended and that the owner had close ties to the city government.
• Complaints only surfaced after those workers quit, including claims that children were fed expired and blackened food.
• Chiang said the letter's use in ads was not approved, that his child was in a nursery rather than the preschool, and that the school has been fined and shut down.
• Councillor Chien Shu-pei called the answer evasive and pushed for fraud charges rather than fines alone.

Outlook: Pressure will keep building on the city to move beyond administrative penalties toward legal action against the school's owners.