A China Critic Storms Taipei's Blue Fortress
A Blue-Leaning Poll Puts the Challenger on Top
Taipei's mayoral race, once seen as safe for the opposition, has turned into Taiwan's most-watched contest a month before election day on 28 November. A United Daily News poll released on 28 October put Democratic Progressive Party legislator Puma Shen at 45% support, four points ahead of incumbent Mayor Chiang Wan-an of the Kuomintang at 41%, within the margin of error. The result matters because the paper is pan-blue, and because Taipei has long been dominated by the KMT. Six candidates are running, but the four minor candidates together poll at less than 1%, while about 13% of voters remain undecided.
