Taiwan's overseas community chief accused of misusing diplomatic resources
Taiwan's foreign ministry says it will look into claims that a senior official let her family use embassy cars and staff roles, a messy story for the ruling party as opposition lawmakers push for her suspension.
- The Taiwan People's Party accuses Overseas Community Affairs Council head Hsu Chia-ching of letting her American husband ride in official embassy cars and letting her son tag along on trips to Germany and France posing as an event photographer.
- The opposition says this breaks conflict-of-interest rules and may amount to impersonating a public official, and wants her removed from her post now.
- The foreign ministry says no formal complaint was filed, but it has asked its representative in Germany to check what happened, noting the son is a minor his mother had to care for.
- The council denies any wrongdoing, saying all trips were declared and all costs reviewed under the rules.
- Separately, Taiwan thanked Washington for arresting a woman accused of spying on President Lai Ching-te's son, calling it part of a wider problem of authoritarian governments reaching across borders to harass people.
Outlook: The ministry says it will report back once the facts are clear, so expect more detail from the Germany office in the coming days while the opposition keeps the pressure on.