Shen Boyang adjusts his campaign image, shifting from national security issues to municipal issues, becoming the focus of the Taipei mayoral election

After joining the election, Shen Boyang adjusted his campaign image, shifting his focus from national security and cross-strait issues to municipal governance and grassroots elections, and used "Ocean Current" as his campaign rallying cry. "BBC" Chinese website analyzed that this change has made Shen Boyang, who was originally considered to have a low chance of winning, gradually becoming the focus of the Taipei mayoral election. (File photo)

Taiwan will hold local elections on November 28, and the Taipei mayoral race has attracted attention. A special analysis published on the Chinese website of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on the 6th pointed out that DPP candidate Shen Boyang adjusted his campaign image after announcing his candidacy, shifting from focusing on national security and cross-strait issues to municipal governance and grassroots elections, and using "Ocean Current" as his campaign rallying cry.

"BBC" pointed out that the Kuomintang mayor Jiang Wanan, who is seeking re-election, enjoys the advantage of being an incumbent and is also a potential candidate for the 2028 presidential election that the outside world is paying attention to. In comparison, Shen Boyang was originally considered to have a low chance of winning, but his image adjustments and campaign operations after his candidacy brought more attention to the Taipei election.

Please read on...

"BBC" analyzed that in the past, Shen Boyang established a distinct image with "Black Bear Academy", national defense and a tough stance on China, but this was also regarded by some voters as having a clear political stance. After running for mayor of Taipei, he cut off his originally recognizable fluffy hairstyle, switched to orange as the campaign's main visual, and shifted his focus from national defense and cross-strait issues to municipal governance and social issues, while increasing grassroots activities.

This change also includes the "ocean current" campaign concept. "BBC" believes that Shen Boyang's camp is seeking to reach out to middle voters. On October 4, Shen Boyang’s campaign headquarters was held at the inauguration meeting. Former President Tsai Ing-wen and President Lai Ching-de also attended the platform.

The election gap narrows and Jiang Wanan begins to face the battle head-on

The "BBC" cited a September poll conducted by the People's Association that showed support for Jiang Wanan at 41.7% and Shen Boyang at 40.5%, with the gap narrowing to 1.2 percentage points. A TVBS poll in May showed support for Jiang Wanan at 58% and Shen Boyang at 30%. The two polls reflect findings at different points in time and cannot be directly equated to the final election results.

"BBC" pointed out that after Shen Boyang's camp used "ocean currents" to promote the election campaign, Chiang Wanan's team, which had adopted a relatively low-key strategy in the past, also began to strengthen its campaign offensive and defense. Chiang Wanan focuses on municipal achievements such as the opening of the Arena, MRT development, and the acquisition of Nvidia's Taiwan headquarters. However, incidents such as food safety, child abuse, and police raids on gay bars have also become issues for critics to review municipal governance.

The two men's cross-strait routes were equally different. "BBC" mentioned that Chiang Wanan promoted the Taipei-Shanghai Twin Cities Forum during his tenure, advocating that the more tense the two sides are, the more communication is needed. Shen Boyang said that if elected, he would re-evaluate the effectiveness of the Twin Cities Forum and advocated that Taipei increase exchanges with other international cities. However, as long as there are no political prerequisites, he does not exclude exchanges in China.

The "BBC" finally quoted Nathan F. Batto, a researcher at the Institute of Political Science of Academia Sinica, to analyze that Shen Boyang did not follow the script that was originally considered to have "no chance of winning and is destined to lose." Instead, he gradually mastered the rhythm of the election campaign, making the Taipei mayoral election attract more attention than originally expected.