Puma Shen, the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for Taipei mayor, launched a Japan support group in Tokyo on September 12, the day his camp announced his poll gap with Mayor Chiang Wan-an had narrowed to single digits. Campaign chief Wu Szu-yao said the DPP's September internal poll showed Shen trailing by fewer than 10 percentage points, down from more than 20 when he entered the race over three months earlier.
What else did the campaign say about the poll? Wu told reporters the DPP also leads in party support in Taipei and that Shen gained more than 10 points from August to September, faster than the camp expected, the Central News Agency reported. She said Chiang, seeking re-election, still holds the incumbent's advantage and the camp would not ease off with more than 70 days left.
What did Shen tell supporters? In his speech, Shen said Taipei's city diplomacy bears on Taiwan's security as well as local governance and cannot rely on official exchanges alone, the Central News Agency reported. He invoked the late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's line that "a Taiwan emergency is a Japan emergency," and said he hoped overseas supporters would become Taipei's "eyes" abroad. The group brings together representatives from more than 30 areas of Japan, and all 300 places at the launch filled quickly.
What else did the trip cover? At a September 13 forum with about 100 young Taiwanese living in Japan, Shen proposed an "AI coach" system that would place AI specialists inside city bureaus, business districts and industries to find practical uses, rather than sending civil servants to AI classes. He flew home late on September 14 after a dialogue between Taiwan's and Japan's governing parties, saying his talks with Japanese lawmakers had covered AI, industry, undersea cables and cognitive warfare.
Why did his bulletproof vest become an issue? Shen told reporters in Tokyo, in remarks carried by the Central News Agency, that he wears a bulletproof vest on every trip abroad because he is wanted by China. After Chiang said the election should not erase police efforts, Shen replied that this was like faulting someone for carrying pepper spray and said the real cause of frontline fatigue was "incompetent generals," the Liberty Times reported. Chiang hit back that Shen wore the vest in the United States and Japan yet dragged in Taipei's public safety, asking who was changing the subject. Shen's camp said Chiang had raised the matter first before turning the question around.
