Taipei:The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) has accused Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) head Hsu Chia-ching and her family of misusing public resources during her overseas trips. The OCAC has denied these allegations.
According to Focus Taiwan, TPP legislative caucus director Vicky Chen revealed that Hsu, in her roles as deputy and later as OCAC head, has traveled abroad 47 times since 2022, totaling 526 days and costing NT$23.83 million, which is about one-third of the council's international travel budget. Hsu also reportedly applied for NT$4.2 million in daily travel allowances during this period.
Chen noted that while work-related international travel is often necessary, Hsu has taken personal leave six times during trips to the United States since 2024. This has fueled speculation that her frequent trips were to visit family. TPP Legislator Hung Yu-shiang presented an audio recording from an anonymous source claiming Hsu's husband and son live in Washington, and that Hsu traveled to Washington or New York three to four times in 2024. The source alleged that these frequent trips exhausted local OCAC staff.
The recording also alleged that Hsu's husband, Bo Tedards, used a Taiwan diplomatic vehicle for personal purposes. Additionally, Hung claimed that during a 2022 trip to Germany and France, Hsu added her then approximately 14-year-old son to the delegation as a "photographer."
The TPP lawmakers argue that Hsu's actions breached public servant conflict of interest rules and Criminal Code provisions regarding the usurpation of public official authority. They called for Hsu's suspension pending an ethics investigation.
In response, the OCAC issued a statement denying any misuse of public funds. They asserted that Hsu's international trips were necessary for her duties and adhered to Taiwanese law, with rigorous audits finding no discrepancies. The OCAC maintained that all arrangements and expenditures were legal and that official vehicles and overseas staff deployments were used strictly for official business.