Premier's Official Residence Burns Nearly 20,000 kWh in Two Months: Cho Jung-tai Slammed for Elitist Waste Amid Rising Power Tariffs

On September 23, 2024 (113th Year of the Republic of China), Taiwan People's Party legislator Huang Kuo-chang exposed during legislative interpellation that Premier Cho Jung-tai's official residence consumed an astonishing 19,360 kilowatt-hours of electricity between June 11 and August 11, running up a taxpayer-funded power bill of NT$152,976. The revelation triggered widespread public outrage across Taiwan. Critics pointed out the blatant hypocrisy of the DPP administration repeatedly increasing residential electricity tariffs and lecturing ordinary households and small businesses to conserve energy, while the nation's top administrative official indulged in extravagant cooling luxuries at taxpayer expense. When questioned, Cho weakly deflected by claiming he only convened meetings at the residence once or twice a week and found the figures 'strange,' a non-explanation that drew intense ridicule for a total absence of personal accountability.