Taipei, Tainan mayors face legal complaints - Taipei Times
Taipei and Tainan mayors face legal complaints following an investigation into the use of AI-generated voice cloning to impersonate President William Lai
- Incident date
- Aug 2026
- Target
- William Lai
On August 3, 2026, legal complaints were filed against Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an and Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che following controversies regarding the use of AI-generated voice cloning in political media. The accusations stem from allegations that officials commissioned or utilized synthetic audio to impersonate public figures, sparking a series of criminal filings involving defamation and data protection laws.
What happened
The controversy began when DPP Taipei city councilor candidate Chang Ming-yu filed a criminal accusation against Mayor Chiang Wan-an. The complaint alleges that Chiang commissioned a video using AI voice cloning to impersonate President William Lai. The video, reportedly produced by a former KMT New Media Department director, is currently under investigation by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Legal representatives for the complainant argued that the AI-generated content constitutes document forgery, aggravated defamation, and violations of the Personal Data Protection Act. While Chiang asserted that the video included an AI disclaimer, critics noted that the label was hidden within an expandable YouTube description box rather than being clearly displayed in the video itself.
In response, KMT Taipei City Councilor Yang Chih-tou and candidate Chen Kuan-an filed counter-accusations against DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu and Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che. This move followed a press conference where Wang and Huang played AI-generated audio clips of Chiang’s voice to demonstrate the risks of voice cloning technology. The KMT representatives argued that the initial video produced by the former New Media director did not constitute a crime and that the use of synthetic media for political satire or policy promotion should be permissible in a democratic society. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is now managing the competing legal complaints as the investigation into the use of synthetic voice technology in political discourse continues.