Former president 
Tsai Ing-wen accompanied Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Puma Shen (Shen Po-yang) as he registered to run for Taipei mayor on September 2, handing him a ship's wheel. Shen filed that morning alongside DPP candidates for the Taipei City Council.
How was the appearance set up? On the evening of September 1, Tsai used her official LINE account to ask "friends in Taipei" whether they had felt the "ocean current" and to introduce "a good friend," linking to Shen's account. The two had posed for a public photo in May but had not appeared together since, CNA reported, citing Shen's campaign office.
What did the former president say? Governing a city is like steering a ship, Tsai said, one that needs a clear heading and a steady hand when the waves come. Drawing on her eight years as president, she said the key to governing is to stay a step ahead of problems and to weigh how today's decisions will shape lives five to more than 20 years out, CNA reported. She said Shen, who had researched national security, was most at home finding risks before a crisis, and that Taipei needed this kind of mayor. Handing over the wheel, she said a ship needs wind and a current as well as a helmsman, and urged the public to become that "current."
What did Shen pledge? Shen said the city government's answer to every problem was that the situation was "under control," and that he intended to be not only a problem-solver but a pioneer. He told residents disheartened by city problems not to lose hope, "because I am here," in remarks carried by CNA, and asked voters to write Taipei's answer on their ballots on November 28.
What is the incumbent doing? Mayor Chiang Wan-an, whom Shen accused of looking for answers only after problems arise, plans to register on the morning of September 3 with Kuomintang (KMT) council candidates, PTS reported. On September 12 he will campaign for six Taiwan People's Party council candidates. Shen said the row over the selection of Chiang's eldest son for a city education department exchange programme was about conflict of interest; Chiang said the family would not take the department's subsidy.
Figures referenced: Tsai Ing-wen. — JudgeMarket.
