EDITORIAL: Chiang, Shen debate vision for Taipei

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator and Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) on Saturday faced each other in their first televised debate. The candidates debated food safety, urban renewal, child protection, public safety and traffic improvement.

Prior to the debate, Chiang had been criticized for equivocating and sidestepping questions from reporters and city councilors, by giving nonanswers or tasking his aides or city officials to answer for him. He has also been criticized for repeating talking points and avoiding interviews. After Shen’s campaign gained momentum and the legislator’s support rate shot up in polls, the question of the mayor’s evasiveness drew greater attention.

Chiang appeared set on turning his image around in Saturday’s debate, taking an aggressive stance. In his opening remarks, he said that Shen had talked a good game, but failed to deliver on promises. Taking advantage of his incumbency, Chiang went into detail on the city government’s projects, citing statistics to tout his performance. He used specific cases to question Shen, and then followed up by saying Shen did not understand city governance, to frame the legislator as out of his depth.

Chiang also took Shen to task for comments that the legislator had made over the years on drug prevention, the death penalty, the Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum and the recall of lawmakers. The mayor sought to force Shen to explain each comment, which at times appeared to have been taken out of context, with the aim of portraying Shen as inconsistent and untrustworthy.

Chiang’s fierce strategy of attacking his opponent, without answering Shen’s questions and even calling them smear attempts and rumors, fulfilled the mayor’s goal of shoring up the KMT’s core supporters. Chiang sought to boost their low morale by striking back at a critic, while playing into his claims of being bullied by the DPP and Shen’s supporters.

Chiang again offered high praise for Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) founder and former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), describing Ko as the target of a DPP witch hunt, an attempt to stir up anti-DPP sentiment among TPP supporters, who Chiang hopes to sway in the election.

However, many of the “accomplishments” Chiang touted were not popular among city residents, and might have been overstated, such as taking credit for Nvidia’s announcement that it would open its Taiwan headquarters in Taipei and the completion of the Taipei Dome, despite water-leakage issues. He also highlighted the city’s free school lunch and milk programs, although those have already been operating in other cities and counties.

Shen has a reputation for being down-to-earth, frequently visiting markets and shops, explaining his policy ideas and giving clear answers to questions from reporters and residents. He is also confident enough to be interviewed by pan-blue-leaning hosts. He is running a positive, innovative and policy-driven campaign, emphasizing hope, while urging his supporters to debate calmly and not give in to emotional provocations.

In Saturday’s debate, Shen demonstrated those traits, expressing concern for Chiang, who called in sick two days before the event, before explaining his platform policies. Shen focused on issues affecting Taipei residents’ daily lives, including time-consuming and hurdle-ridden urban renewal plans, traffic congestion, urban greening, long-term care and child protection. He also reminded Chiang that cherry-picked data do not necessarily reflect the meaningful and heartfelt support that city residents need. Many of the DPP’s policies Chiang criticized are at the central government level, not related to city governance, Shen said, jokingly suggesting that Chiang return to the legislature.

Shen frequently found himself having to explain his or the DPP’s policies in response to Chiang’s selective presentation, while Chiang skipped over questions he found challenging, simply calling them fabrications or rumors. In his closing statement, Shen said his goal is to bring hope back to Taipei with a clear vision for the city, adding that residents should vote for the lifestyles and values they want.

A second televised debate has not yet been confirmed. Saturday’s appeared more like a performance than a focused debate, especially as media questions had been presented to the candidates ahead of the event, and Chiang read from notes when receiving questions from the media. Still, voters have been given a taste of the candidates’ different approaches to how they would govern Taipei.