Taiwan People’s Party caucus director Chen Chih-han (陳智菡) alleged that the closing dinner of the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission’s council meeting was turned into a farewell and birthday party for former OCAC minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), who resigned earlier this month. The OCAC said Hsu was invited at the joint request of more than 100 council members and that no extra budget was spent.
According to the United Daily News, Chen raised the allegations on Oct. 23 via a livestream and to reporters. The Overseas Compatriot Affairs Conference, which gathers overseas community representatives, opened on Oct. 20 at Taipei’s Grand Hotel for four days, and the dispute centers on the ‘farewell dinner’ held on the evening of Oct. 22.
광고 문의 · 300×250Chen claimed the dinner showed a video reviewing Hsu’s six years in office, that Hsu spoke for about 30 minutes about her achievements and sang with members, and that the screen displayed an acrostic poem praising her. She said Oct. 22 was Hsu’s birthday and that acting minister Lee Yen-hui (李妍慧) presented flowers and said Hsu had resigned after being smeared by people with ulterior motives.
Chen also claimed the conference cost NT$14.92 million, booking more than 200 rooms a day and subsidizing airfare for several hundred people, and quoted overseas Taiwanese as asking whether tens of millions in public funds could be spent this way. The breakdown of that sum and any amount directly tied to the dinner were not specified in reports.
OCAC: invitation followed members’ petition
The United Daily News reported that the OCAC said late on Oct. 23 that Hsu was invited because more than 100 council members signed a request for her attendance. Since it happened to be her birthday, attendees sang and played a commemorative video produced at no cost, with no additional public budget or spending, it said.
The OCAC said the dinner was meant to thank council members for their long support and should be viewed separately from the birthday wishes. Airfare subsidies, lodging, venue, equipment and meals were handled under existing rules, approved plans and budgets and government procurement procedures, it said, urging critics to verify facts first.
Hsu resigned on Oct. 7, saying she had done nothing illegal, after allegations that her son accompanied her on trips as a ‘photographer’ and her husband used an overseas mission’s official car; the Executive Yuan accepted the resignation immediately. Chen also suggested a related foreign ministry inquiry had effectively stalled, but no ministry response was reported. Most allegations remain under investigation without conclusion.
