A complaint over who got picked for a taxpayer-funded overseas youth program in Hsinchu City puts the mayor's office on the defensive, and looks bad for public trust in how the money is handed out.

• Two of the 15 young people chosen for a US startup training trip to Arizona are sitting youth commissioners appointed by the city.
• A reader complaint calls it players refereeing their own game, since the city labor and youth office both proposed the program and helped judge applicants.
• The money comes from the education ministry's multi-billion NT dollar overseas dream fund, plus city funds.
• The city says the selection was open, with the ministry doing a paper screening first and two outside judges plus one from the proposing office making the final call.
• Two-thirds of the slots were reserved for Hsinchu youth, with the rest open nationwide, and everyone who goes has to present what they learned when they return.

Outlook: Expect pressure on the city to publish the full scoring and recusal rules, with more scrutiny of Mayor Kao Hung-an's youth appointments if it does not.