In the wake of the tainted cooking oil scandal, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) is once again firing shots at the Cabinet, bringing up the possibility of a no-confidence vote. On Tuesday, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) retorted that a mayor’s responsibility is to focus on municipal affairs and to leave legislative matters to the Legislature. 

Chiang made the remarks during an interview this Monday describing the protests that were organized this past weekend in response to the latest food safety scandal. He added that several legislators had privately brought up the idea of a no-confidence motion in recent days. Chiang said that if opposition parties can reach a consensus on pursuing a no-confidence vote to remove the premier and hold the Cabinet accountable for the cooking oil scandal, he would welcome the move.

Kuo responded that Chiang should focus on mayoral duties such as investigating food safety issues and convening the relevant meetings. She also called on legislators from all parties to promptly complete deliberation of the national budget, which has been stalled in the legislature for nearly a year.

With regard to AI-generated deepfakes depicting President Lai Ching-te making false statements, Kuo emphasized that impersonating a head of state in a way that deliberately misleads the public does not fall under freedom of speech protections and that police have responded accordingly. She called on all political parties to use AI responsibly during political campaigns and debates.