A Taipei City Government official defending the exchange-student controversy involving Mayor Chiang Wan-an's son said other students also hold foreign nationality — a remark that has only deepened public dissatisfaction.

• Chiang Wan-an's son, Chiang Te-li, was selected as an international exchange student, prompting questions over whether family connections secured him a place through the back door.
• Yin Wei, head of the Taipei City Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, stepped forward to say that "three or four other students also hold foreign nationality," but offered no name list or verification data.
• Internet users criticised the remark as an attempt to shift the focus, recasting one person's privilege as a class confrontation in which "everyone is the same."
• The bigger question is this: Yin Wei is a city government official, and if he has official data in hand he should explain where it came from — if he does not, the claim amounts to fabrication.
• Public opinion is calling on the city government to go back to the beginning and account for who set the rules, who reviewed the qualifications, and why Chiang Te-li was selected.

Outlook: The pressure will continue to fall on the Taipei City Government, and unless the selection rules and review process are made public, the controversy will not subside any time soon.