The controversy over Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan's eldest son Chiang Deli's receiving a publicly funded exchange abroad continues to rage. Professor Chen Shifen (penname: Ong Darui) who lives in the United States criticized the Chiang family for "knowing and breaking the law" and allegedly exploiting loopholes to include his son in the precious 25-person shortlist. The purpose is to compete for the honors and resumes of a very small number of exchange students and exclude the opportunities of other compliant students. Chen Shifen was also shocked to reveal that Jiang Deli may have actually been disqualified by the State Council. In the past, foreign students would only be assigned to rural areas under such exchange programs. However, Jiang Deli is now in New York and is rumored to be attending a local high school, which is inconsistent with the exchange program. If the relevant rumors are true, he will come to see how the Chiang City government will cover up his lies!
Chen Shifen posted on Facebook on the 7th, "Chiang Wanan's son Chiang Deli was selected as an exchange student in the United States in Taipei City, which broke out the controversy over privilege protection. The Taipei City Government claimed that everything was legal, but the Chiang family gave up the city government's subsidies, and the controversy continued. Regarding the exchange of foreign middle school students in the United States, the U.S. Congress passed a special law in 1993, the provision is "22 CFR § 62.25". The special law only applies to foreign middle school students, who cannot have American citizenship, are between 15 and 18 years old, must be middle school students, and must meet academic, English, and adaptability assessments."
"The competent authority of the special law is the State Department. Selected foreign high school students can obtain a visiting scholar visa (J-1) to study in a high school in the United States for one semester to one academic year, and can only live with the assigned host family. The State Council outsources the execution of this business to private organizations and is responsible for the school assignment of the selected exchange students, the selection of the host family, and other assistance. If the assigned school is a public high school, no tuition fees are allowed. The host family is also voluntary and cannot charge accommodation fees."
"In Taipei City, the selection of exchange students is divided into two stages. In the first stage, the school 'primarily selects' potential students, and then submits them to the Taipei City Education Bureau for the second stage's 'final selection'. After the final selection list is determined, the Taipei City Government outsources the exchange business to a private organization, which is responsible for coordinating with the counterpart units in the United States and executing the students' visa and overseas affairs."
Let’s talk about the loopholes in the Taiwan-U.S. exchange program: “This exchange program involves government units in the U.S. and Taiwan, but U.S. legal sources have no jurisdiction over the Taipei City Government. The State Council’s exchange program only applies to non-American foreign students, but the Taipei City Government’s selection method does not exclude applicants with U.S. citizenship. The implementation of this exchange program also involves private institutions in the United States and Taiwan, and they are all government outsourcers. Logically speaking, the executive agencies in Taipei should not submit selected students with American citizenship to their counterparts in the United States. The problem is that U.S. laws cannot control private institutions in Taiwan."
"After the U.S. counterpart institution receives the final selection list from the Taipei City Government, the first action is to request the State Department to issue a J-1 visa document. At this time, the selected students with U.S. citizenship will be eliminated because they do not comply with the law. After being eliminated from the exchange program of the State Department by the U.S., the selected students with U.S. citizenship can make their own arrangements for study and accommodation. , or participate in a paid exchange program. There are no visa issues for these two programs, because these students have U.S. passports. After excluding the selected students with American citizenship, the U.S. counterpart institution will ask the Taipei City Government to replace the candidates, provided that there is sufficient time, then there will be no replacement."
"Chiang Deli is not eligible for the legal basis of this exchange program, but he can still be included in the shortlist because the Taipei City Government does not comply with U.S. laws. The Taipei City Government deliberately acted stupid and did not exclude applicants with U.S. citizenship in the selection announcement . The private organization that contracted the exchange program from the Taipei City Government also deliberately turned a blind eye, knowing that Jiang Deli was not qualified for the exchange student selection, but still submitted the shortlist to the counterpart organization in the United States. The selection announcement also set a deadline, and there would be no replacement after the deadline. Although Chiang Deli has been removed from the exchange program by the US counterpart, he is still on the Taipei City Government's shortlist of 25 candidates. Under the exchange program of the State Council, he can still enter the United States smoothly and enter an American high school through other channels. Jiang Deli has American citizenship and can return to the United States to attend high school at any time. There is no need to participate in the Taipei City Government’s exchange student selection.”
Chen Shifen went on to expose the inside story, "According to media reports, Jiang Deli is in New York and is about to attend a local high school for one year before returning to Jianzhong to resume school. If this report is true, the Jiang family is knowingly breaking the law, knowing that Jiang Deli's qualifications are not met, but still insisting on signing up for the selection. In the middle school student exchange program promoted by the State Council, high schools that host foreign students cannot charge tuition. Families cannot charge accommodation fees. Because of these two restrictions, foreign students will only be assigned to rural areas, not metropolitan areas such as New York. High schools in urban areas have capacity limits, and there are few host families willing to provide free accommodation. There is no quota limit for high schools in rural areas, and the cost of free accommodation is lower, and the exchange value of foreign students is higher.”
"Chiang Deli flew directly to New York instead of a small town in the Midwest, which shows that the Chiang family knew that he would be excluded from the exchange program of the State Council, and had already arranged for him to study and live in New York through private channels without waiting for the exchange program to be assigned. In this case, why did Chiang Deli apply for the Taipei City Government's exchange student selection? The Chiang family wanted It is an honor for this exchange program. There are only 25 students in Taipei City. It is very valuable and will help in future university selection or application. As for the financial subsidies provided by the Taipei City Government, it is not a pity to give up. The Chiang family is not short of money. As long as a small piece of the election subsidy is enough to cover Chiang Deli's expenses in the United States."
In the end, Chen Shifen said bluntly, "Chiang Deli's right to pursue his dream in the United States should not be deprived because his father is Jiang Wanan. What the public is dissatisfied about is that the Chiang family abused their privileges. They knew that Jiang Deli was not qualified, but still insisted on signing up for the selection and took away the opportunities of other students. What is even more dissatisfactory is that Chiang Deli occupied the manhole and did not shit, and has been exchanged for it by the counterpart agencies of the United States. The Taipei City Government has vowed that the selection process was not illegal, but it still refuses to withdraw from the Taipei City Government's shortlist. In the coming year, the truth will be revealed sooner or later about which high school in the United States Chiang Deli is studying at and in which city he lives in."
