TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) on Thursday apologized for wrongly identifying a government official as a Chinese spy during a Legislative Yuan session a day earlier.

Hsu accused a personal assistant to National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) of being a spy and posted what she thought was the assistant’s photo on Facebook, per Storm Media. However, the individual in the photo was actually an official from the Foreign Ministry’s Department of North American Affairs, who shares the same name.

National Security Bureau Director Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) corrected Hsu during the session, with Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) later issuing a clarification. Hsu then amended the Facebook post and issued an apology to the misidentified official.

Following the incident, a user on Threads, identifying as the wife of the misidentified official, accused Hsu of knowingly sharing incorrect information and called on the public to support Hsu’s recall, per Newtalk. She also indicated that she is considering legal action.

In a second apology directed at the official and his family, Hsu said she had already expressed regret to Lin. She also reiterated her call for the National Security Bureau to thoroughly investigate the actual espionage allegations, per ETtoday.

Hsu’s Facebook post criticized the bureau for what she perceived as the NSB’s lenient attitude toward alleged Chinese spies within the Office of the President. She also suggested the NSB's low-key investigation of the spy allegation was due to the alleged spies' DPP membership.

The apology comes amid a politically charged environment, as the DPP-led mass recall campaign against KMT legislators has entered its second petition phase. In response, the KMT has launched a counter-campaign targeting DPP lawmakers.