OCAC members dispute TPP claims about event

• By Huang Ching-hsuan / Staff reporter

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Fourteen Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) members yesterday issued a statement on behalf of 131 members worldwide to dispute allegations that its annual gathering this month was a “taxpayer-funded junket” and “self-serving celebration.”

The members held a four-day gathering of members from Tuesday to Friday last week. On Thursday, participants allegedly held a birthday dinner at the Grand Hotel for former OCAC minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), who resigned on Oct. 7.

The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus criticized the event as misuse of public funds.

Then-Overseas Community Affairs Council minister Hsu Chia-ching holds a news conference in Taipei on Oct. 7 announcing her resignation.

Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times

An OCAC member is an unpaid, honorary appointment that carries no special privileges, the members said in the statement.

For years, council members have contributed their time, expertise, networks and personal resources to support overseas compatriots, advance Taiwanese culture and education, foster international exchanges and grassroots diplomacy, and deliver emergency assistance, it said.

While they support public oversight, they oppose using incomplete information and biased labels to dismiss council members’ contributions or to portray the global overseas community as a privileged group, it said.

The annual meeting gathers global feedback, bridging the government and overseas communities to shape overseas community affairs policies, the statement said.

Hsu attended because more than 100 council members signed a petition to invite her to a farewell dinner, and the birthday celebration incurred no additional public funds, it said.

The cost of the farewell dinner and the budget for the general assembly should be viewed separately, it said, adding that overseas Taiwanese communities’ efforts and long-term contributions should not be dismissed over political differences, while oversight should be fact-based.

At a news conference in Taipei, US-based council member Danny Chen (陳啟耕) showed a receipt showing he paid for a flower bouquet presented to Hsu out of his own pocket, as well as another for acting minister Lee Yen-hui (李?慧).

“Only by stepping out of Taiwan can one truly understand the challenges Taiwan faces,” France-based council member Sandy Hsueh (薛雅俶) said.

In places that government officials cannot visit, council members serve as Taiwan’s representatives, helping uphold the country’s dignity, she said.

While members receive government subsidies to attend meetings, their own spending far exceeds the public funds they receive, Hsueh said.

“When people repeatedly attack the OCAC, who ultimately benefits?” she said.

Asked about the statement, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said the focus for an event of such importance should have been the council members working hard to represent Taiwan abroad, not Hsu, and yet it turned into a birthday party for her.

He criticized the Democratic Progressive Party government for deteriorating discipline at the council.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus said the OCAC is using the council members as scapegoats for its own misuse of public resources, calling it an attempt to shirk responsibility and a collective moral failing of civil servants.

KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) said Hsu Chia-ching made 47 overseas trips over five years, spending 526 days abroad at a cost of NT$23.83 million (US$733,050).

“When will the authorities report their findings to the public on whether she misused public resources?” Hsu Yu-chen said. “Were the photos and videos showcasing her achievements at her birthday dinner also produced by OCAC staff using official records? If that is not a misuse of public resources, what is?”