Free Speech" Looking at the new changes in Taiwan's electoral culture from the "ocean current" trend

In the Taipei mayoral election, when Shen Boyang was nominated in May, he was trailing Chiang Wanan by more than 20 percentage points in the polls. Since then, he has actively contacted the public through temples, night markets, street vote scanning and online promotions, and gradually accumulated momentum. Now the polls are close to evenly matched. The rise of the "Ocean Current" trend shows new changes in Taiwan's electoral culture.

Ocean currents are not formed overnight, but through continuous communication, people from different backgrounds gradually build consensus. Shen Boyang's team broke through the traditional campaign model and used creative activities such as "soap box" street preaching, distribution of "good news" literature and "Ocean Fleet" to bring the candidates closer to the public and demonstrate the innovation of campaign strategies.

Shen Boyang launched the "Great Ocean Current Project" on September 30, and 100,000 crew members boarded the ship in one day. The campaign headquarters was established on October 4th, and the crowds at the venue and the volume of online chatter attracted attention. The heartwarming scene of Mr. and Mrs. Shen Boyang singing "Taipei Comes Together" with their young daughter and the public was touching. The "Ocean Current" phenomenon has also attracted the attention of international media such as "Diplomat" and the BBC, showing that the combination of creative communication and public issues has become a new trend in election campaigns.

In terms of policies, Shen Boyang proposed concepts such as urban micro-forests, sports stations, long-term care companionship and childcare support to respond to the needs of citizens. On the other hand, when faced with issues such as school lunch food safety, harbor and lake flooding, and public environment issues, the city government must also respond to public opinion with concrete actions. The key to electoral competition ultimately lies in policy quality and governance capabilities.

The "Ocean Current" trend brought about three innovations:

First, civilian politics replaces the thinking of the powerful. Voters should not only look at the reputation and resources of candidates, but also pay attention to moral character, professionalism, execution ability and the ability to listen to public opinion, and implement the selection of talents and capabilities.

Second, make good use of technological innovation and communication. Candidates can combine artificial intelligence, social media and street communication to grasp public opinion and spread political opinions, but technology is only a tool, and whether they can propose pragmatic solutions is the core.

Third, the shortest shortcut is to take the long way around. Urban governance is important in the long term. Faced with problems such as high housing prices, declining birth rate, urban renewal, and transportation, we cannot just seek short-term publicity. We must replace slogans, smearing, and confrontation with long-term planning and continuous execution. Only by putting the people first and persuading people with policies can Taiwan's electoral culture continue to improve and democracy truly become the driving force for urban development.

Shen Boyang established his campaign headquarters on October 4, and crowds of people spread to Zhongshan South Road. Today, the ocean current has become a tsunami, spilling over to all counties and cities in Taiwan. Its innovations and changes, as well as new concepts in the new era, will become a new milestone in Taiwan's electoral history.