TPP Accuses Legislator Su Chiao-hui of Funneling Benefits to Sister, Citing Over NT$5.94M in Grants

The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) caucus pointed out today that after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chiao-hui's sister, Su Chiao-chun, became the CEO of akaSwap under 'VeroTech,' the company received a total of over NT$5.94 million in subsidies from the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and other government bodies. The TPP questioned Su Chiao-hui's Facebook post defending the Ministry of Culture's 'Cultural Black Tide' program, which provided subsidies to this company, alleging it as a blatant act of profiteering.

Mahengheng Estanda, spokesperson for DPP's New Taipei City mayoral candidate Su Chiao-hui's campaign office, stated that this is a baseless accusation. He clarified that Su Chiao-chun is not a shareholder of VeroTech, has no investment, holds no position, and receives no salary. Any public tenders awarded to VeroTech are unrelated to Su Chiao-chun, and he expressed hope that the New Taipei election campaign would return to a policy-focused exchange.

TPP caucus convener Chen Ching-lung and others held a press conference this morning, stating that Su Chiao-chun has been the CEO of akaSwap, a platform under 'VeroTech' that claims to be Asia's top NFT art platform, since 2023. VeroTech first received a total of NT$1.8 million in subsidies in two installments from the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Commercial Development Administration in 2024.

The TPP press conference further noted that in 2025, VeroTech received another NT$2.5 million subsidy from the Ministry of Culture, and in the same year, an additional NT$1.646 million from the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration. They criticized that with Su Chiao-hui as a legislator responsible for reviewing budgets while her sister holds a key position in the industry receiving national subsidies, it's like treating public money as their own.

The TPP questioned that when the opposition parties strictly scrutinized the Ministry of Culture's budget last year, the ruling party continuously smeared them and mobilized figures from the film and arts circles as political pawns. At that time, Su Chiao-hui had posted on Facebook defending the ministry's 'Cultural Black Tide' program, precisely because that program subsidized akaSwap. They called this 'publicly defending a subsidy for her own family' a blatant act of illicit gains.

Chen Ching-lung stated that Su Chiao-hui defended the Ministry of Culture's budget in the Legislative Yuan, and then her sister Su Chiao-chun received a subsidy from the Ministry. He mentioned that the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Economic Affairs were invited to attend the press conference to provide explanations but declined, and also refused to provide requested information, raising suspicion about what the government is hiding. The TPP caucus affirmed it would pursue the matter to the end.

Through a media group chat, Mahengheng Estanda pointed out that the TPP's press conference was a baseless accusation. He explained that akaSwap is not an affiliated enterprise of VeroTech; VeroTech is merely an internet technology provider. He likened it to numerous vendors selling products on Facebook, which does not mean those vendors are affiliated with Meta.

Mahengheng Estanda reiterated that Su Chiao-chun is not a shareholder of VeroTech, has no investment, no position, and no salary, and that any public contracts won by VeroTech have nothing to do with her. He urged the camp of KMT's New Taipei City mayoral candidate, Lee Szu-chuan, to 'do their homework' and avoid making baseless accusations.

He added that it was puzzling that whenever Lee Szu-chuan faces a major controversy, his camp holds a press conference to attack Su Chiao-hui's family. He expressed a desire for the New Taipei election to return to a debate on policies, allowing citizens to understand who can lead the city into a new era.