◎ Xu Yumin
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan has been in office for nearly four years, and his performance in governance has left people shaking heads. (File photo)
In March 2024, 33 people were poisoned and 6 died at the Baolin Tea House Restaurant of Far East Department Store in Xinyi District, Taipei City, after diners ate fried rice noodles that were contaminated by bacteria and secreted toxins (formerly known as rice fermentation acid). In January 2025, a suspected food poisoning incident occurred at the Xinyi Breeze Store in Xinyi District, causing 32 people to become unwell and seek medical treatment. In July 2026, there was an incident involving carcinogenic soybean salad oil across Taiwan. Zoomlion Oil, the upstream raw material supplier of many major manufacturers, had an improper production process that caused the carcinogen benzene ratio to exceed the standard. Taipei City had not inspected it for a long time, and was notified of its removal from the shelves belatedly, causing citizens to eat more carcinogens for many days. In September 2026, Taipei City's free lunches were launched in a hurry. First, 87 students of Chengyuan High School suffered from collective diarrhea. A few days later, suspected spoiled small roll meals occurred at Jinhua Junior High School. Many students became ill after eating them and were suspected of having food poisoning. The principal issued an apology... Related food safety issues have aroused dissatisfaction among parents of the general public.
Campus food safety incidents after the implementation of free nutritious lunches. (File photo, compiled by reporter Sun Weirong)
In early 2026, Taipei City experienced an outbreak of the "Rat War" caused by hantavirus deaths and frequent rat sightings on the streets. Subsequently, social media platforms reported that large numbers of rats were found in parks, business districts, night markets, zoos, etc., causing panic among citizens. The Taipei City Government launched a "Rodent Detector" policy with limited results. Akira has become a laughing stock from all walks of life, especially during the recent professional baseball game at the Dome, where rats broke into the playing field and caused the game to be interrupted. This incident sparked heated discussions on the Internet. It was broadcast and humiliated abroad. It also brought the public health and rodent prevention issues of Taipei City into the spotlight again. Fans and the general public in the city felt helpless.
Please read on...
During a recent professional baseball game at the Dome, a rat broke into the field and interrupted the game. This incident sparked heated discussions on the Internet. (File photo)
A team of scholars from Academia Sinica used satellite imagery to point out that between 2024 and 2026, there will be a net reduction of approximately 13.7 hectares of tree canopy within the streets of Beishi. A 40-year-old eggplant tree in the Dongmen Market was originally scheduled for transplantation, but was "accidentally cut down" by an outsourcer. The scene of the bloody cut surface of the tree was shocking. An old tree in Section 7 of Zhongshan North Road was also sawed off for unknown reasons. Recently, the tree cavity of the road tree at Jianguo Middle School was covered with cement by the construction company. After the news revealed that it was urgently improved! The city government's policy on the protection of green and old trees is absurd and rigid, making the majority of residents who are accustomed to green trees angry and dissatisfied.
An eggplant tree near Dongmen Market in Taipei was originally planned to be transplanted but was removed. (Taken from Hong Wanzhen’s Facebook)
Speaking of child safety, since December 2023, the Child Welfare Alliance has handed over the case of a one and a half year old boy to a nanny named Liu in Wenshan District for full-day care. The boy was tied up for a long time, forced to kneel, beaten and malnourished. He was sent to hospital and died on December 24 of the same year. Then there was the child abuse incident in Songshan Kindergarten. A 10-year-old girl was suspected of being sexually assaulted because she lived with her mother who was involved in the sex trade. She was notified to social workers for more than 200 days and was not properly placed. The girl even self-mutilated and was urgently placed after the congressman revealed strict requirements. This series of incidents and the mayor's image of caring for children since he entered politics form a strong irony.
To sum up, the governance can be described as a complete mess. Not only that, the sugar cane, an auspicious gift from the Palace of Fortune, was abandoned on the roadside, always asked A and B when asked by legislators and reporters, avoided media opponents when invited to interview and debate, and a controversy over academic qualification changes broke out for many years after the outgoing legislators. He faked a doctorate in law to cover up his life. He has been accustomed to privileged admission to higher education since he was a child. Even his children went abroad as publicly funded exchange students, and there were also reports of revised regulations. Recently, due to the embarrassing world record of taking Shen Boyang's remarks out of context on social media many years ago and twisting Methadone's "harm reduction" measures into supporting drugs, his page was deleted by 500,000 netizens in just one day. Let me ask: Do the citizens of Taipei want a mayor like this?
Jiang Wanan recently quoted Shen Boyang's article discussing drug policy out of context on social media, attracting 500,000 netizens to leave comments in just one day. (Extracted from Jiang Wanan’s Facebook)
If the definition of talent selection and ability is not rewritten, we hope that Taipei citizens will keep their eyes open and choose a truly promising future mayor to lead Taipei to become a world capital!
The Free E-Newsletter cares about you: Suicide cannot solve the problem. Bravely asking for help is not a weak person. There is warmth everywhere in society, and you will definitely be able to overcome the difficulties.
Suicide prevention and treatment consultation and safety hotline: 1925
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(The author is a parent of a student in Taipei City)
