OCAC minister, family accused of misusing public resources overseas

Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) on Monday accused Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) head Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) and her family members of misusing public resources during her trips abroad -- allegations that the OCAC has flatly denied.

At a press conference, TPP legislative caucus director Vicky Chen (陳智菡) said Hsu, as deputy and later OCAC head, has traveled abroad 47 times for a total of 526 days since 2022, spending a total of NT$23.83 million (US$749,938), or about one-third of the council's international travel budget.

During that four-year period, Hsu also applied for daily travel allowances totaling NT$4.2 million, Chen said.

Chen said that while international travel for work purposes is often necessary, Hsu has taken personal leave six times during trips to the United States since 2024, fueling speculation among overseas Taiwanese that she was scheduling frequent trips to visit family.

Meanwhile, TPP Legislator Hung Yu-shiang (洪毓祥) played an audio recording of an anonymous individual stating that Hsu's husband and son currently live in Washington, and that Hsu had traveled to Washington or New York "three to four times" in 2024.

The frequent trips exhausted staff at Taiwan's local OCAC offices, according to the individual in the recording, who also claimed that Hsu's husband, American political analyst Bo Tedards, had used a Taiwan diplomatic vehicle to drive their son to reunions with Hsu.

Hung also alleged that during a 2022 OCAC trip to Germany and France, Hsu, then the council's deputy head, had her son added to the delegation as a "photographer," despite him only being around 14 years old at the time.

The TPP lawmakers alleged that Hsu's actions breached conflict of interest rules for public servants and violated Criminal Code provisions on "usurping the authority of a public official."

They demanded that Hsu be suspended as OCAC head pending an ethics investigation.

OCAC denies allegations

In a statement issued later that day, the OCAC denied wrongdoing, saying there was "absolutely no misuse of public funds for private gain."

The OCAC said international trips taken by Hsu -- whether for "inspection visits" or for major events in the overseas Taiwanese community -- all constituted necessary travel in the performance of her duties.

All travel itineraries, personnel arrangements and budget expenditures were conducted according to Taiwanese law, while reimbursements applied for by Hsu were rigorously audited, with no inaccuracies or violations found, the agency said.

In addition, all deployment of OCAC overseas staff and use of official vehicles was in compliance with established protocols and limited to official business, thus precluding any private use or overclaiming of funds, the OCAC said.