Taipei-New Taipei Election Heats Up as Rivals Clash Over Achievements and Regional Cooperation

As the campaign atmosphere gradually heats up, potential and incumbent politicians from various political parties have recently been taking advantage of local temple banquets and folk events to reach out to the grassroots and vie for exposure and public recognition. As construction on Taipei City's prominent agricultural and fish wholesale market reconstruction project continues, the local Xingde Temple hosted a sizable believer banquet at noon today, attracting heavyweight politicians from across party lines. Among them, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislators Puma Shen and Su Chiao-hui attended together, promoting the concept of cross-county and city regional governance and cooperation. Meanwhile, as the host, Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an arrived in person, seizing the opportunity to detail his administration's governance achievements to grassroots citizens and vendors. Although the banquet did not feature the three figures sharing the stage in a direct confrontation, the political messages and strategic layouts they each released fully demonstrated the competitive smoke of the capital circle election.

DPP heavy-hitter Legislators Puma Shen and Su Chiao-hui appeared together at today's banquet, where they particularly emphasized the importance of a prosperous greater Taipei region. For a long time, Taipei City and New Taipei City have been inseparable in terms of living circles, transportation networks, industrial development, and social welfare, with extremely frequent population flows and economic and trade exchanges between the two cities. Therefore, the mindset of regional governance has long transcended the boundaries of administrative districts. By attending an event at a grassroots Taipei temple, Shen and Su attempted to break the traditional stereotype of dividing the greater Taipei area into pan-Blue and pan-Green camps. Through their discourse on greater Taipei prosperity, they conveyed the DPP's ambition for cross-regional governance and policy networking. Such an appeal not only helps open up cross-county voter bases, but also lays a cooperative foundation for the overall future electoral pace.

On the other hand, Chiang Wan-an, as the chief executive of Taipei City, chose to focus on governance achievements to respond to grassroots expectations. During his speech, Chiang specifically explained various major construction projects and municipal reforms promoted by Taipei City in recent years, including market modernization projects, traffic improvements, and childcare and housing policies of high concern to citizens. Because Xingde Temple is located within the Taipei Agricultural and Fish Wholesale Market—the very core area where Chiang's administration team has been striving to advance reconstruction work—surrounding vendors and practitioners share a deep understanding of the market reconstruction's progress, environmental improvements, and operational impacts. By personally visiting the temple within the market to pay his respects and detailing the progress of related construction projects, Chiang not only demonstrated his emphasis on grassroots voices, but also hoped to use a solid scorecard of governance achievements to consolidate the confidence of traditional pan-Blue supporters in Taipei City and win the recognition of more independent voters.

It is worth noting that although Puma Shen, Su Chiao-hui, and Chiang Wan-an all attended the same banquet at Xingde Temple, they did not cross paths or directly meet on-site due to staggered schedules. Such scheduling differences are quite common in political practice; they can avoid unnecessary political embarrassment or blurred focus while ensuring that respective itineraries are completed smoothly and political demands are conveyed. However, not meeting does not mean a lack of competition. With the heated campaign now fully underway, every public itinerary is an important stage for politicians to demonstrate grassroots mobilization capabilities and policy discourse. The pan-Blue and pan-Green camps each made their moves—the DPP camp opened up a macro perspective with regional prosperity, while the Kuomintang (KMT) camp countered with the local mayor's governance achievements, forming a competitive dynamic of remote sparring and individual bids for recognition.

As can be seen from the interactions and remarks at this banquet, with the advancement of the election schedule, the political landscape and campaign strategies in the greater Taipei area are quietly shifting. Whether it is cross-county regional governance cooperation or the examination of a local chief executive's governance performance, both will become important considerations for voters in future ballots. The greater Taipei prosperity proposed by Puma Shen and Su Chiao-hui highlights the trend that the capital's living circle must break down parochial barriers, while the achievements detailed by Chiang Wan-an directly test the local government's execution and crisis-response capabilities. Although the banquet held at Xingde Temple in the agricultural and fish wholesale market was merely a local folk and fellowship event, it has also become an important microcosm for observing Taiwan's current political ecology, local party dynamics, and the initial clashes of the greater Taipei election.

(Source: Central News Agency)