Taipei has long been a KMT stronghold. Now its mayor, Chiang Wan-an, is trailing the DPP’s Puma Shen by 17 points. @heguisen argues that Shen has turned the race around by focusing on everyday problems, from flooding to rubbish bins, rather than China. Horton has interviewed both men. Chiang cut short their meeting when asked about China and never rescheduled. Shen spent hours explaining Beijing’s disinformation tactics, even drawing diagrams to illustrate them. The stakes go well beyond Taipei. Chiang has cultivated ties with Chinese Communist Party officials, while Shen has spent years exposing Beijing’s influence operations. A Shen victory, Horton writes, would cost Beijing a “trusted friend,” hand Taipei to “one of its sharpest observers” and potentially derail Chiang’s presidential ambitions in 2028. Could Taipei elect its first DPP mayor in more than 30 years? asia.nikkei.com/opinion/coul…