A fight over political favoritism has broken out in Taiwan after Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an's son won a city-run exchange student spot, prompting the opposition to drag President Lai Ching-te's son into it.

• Chiang's son got a place in a Taipei education department exchange program his father's own city government runs, raising conflict-of-interest questions.
• A former KMT staffer hit back by pointing at a university scholarship Lai's son received years ago, saying the only difference is whose father it is.
• Lai's party rejects the comparison: scholarships go to anyone who hits the grades, while exchange places are limited and need a conflict-of-interest check.
• They also note Lai's son got that scholarship while the KMT ran the national government, so Lai had no leverage over it.
• The party wants the accuser to apologize or admit the whole thing was cover for Chiang's bad optics.

Outlook: Expect the row to keep running as a test of Chiang's political judgment rather than a formal investigation.