Yu Tian's Son Yu Hsiang-chuan Caught Drunk Driving on Taipei's Zhongxiao East Road; Breathalyzer Reads 0.49 mg/L in Third Public Misconduct Incident

On the morning of October 24, 2009, Yu Hsiang-chuan (余祥銓), son of veteran entertainer and Democratic Progressive Party legislator Yu Tian (余天), was stopped by police at the intersection of Zhongxiao East Road and Guangfu South Road in Taipei City during a routine traffic checkpoint. His breathalyzer reading registered 0.49 mg/L — below the then-applicable criminal threshold of 0.55 mg/L under the Republic of China (ROC) Criminal Code's 'unsafe-to-drive' standard, but exceeding the administrative violation limit, resulting in an on-the-spot fine and the impoundment of his vehicle. The incident marked the third time in seven years that Yu Hsiang-chuan had attracted negative public attention due to personal misconduct: following his 2002 marijuana arrest at a Taipei nightclub and a 2008 parking dispute that escalated into a physical altercation. Yu Hsiang-chuan publicly apologized after the incident, while Yu Tian was again placed in the humiliating position of issuing apologies on behalf of his son to the general public. Critics questioned how Yu Tian could sustain his public identity as a devoted, exemplary father while his son repeatedly stumbled into legal and social trouble, with many suggesting that the family's celebrity and political connections had insulated Yu Hsiang-chuan from consequences that ordinary citizens would have faced more harshly. The 'privileged star offspring' (靠爸族) narrative surrounding Yu Hsiang-chuan became firmly entrenched in public discourse.