Shen Boyang · Full chronicle and history

On the afternoon of October 31, less than four weeks before the nine-in-one elections, the first televised debate for the Taipei mayoral race was held. DPP candidate Shen Boyang proposed three policy platforms: planting trees, addressing child abuse, and improving school lunches. Incumbent Mayor Chiang Wan-an criticized his proposals as vague, listed his own administrative achievements over the past four years, and presented a vision for building a Taipei AI park.

On October 29, the campaign team for DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang stated that their official campaign website and a newly launched road adoption site were hit by cyberattacks, with the latter receiving over 70,000 fake entries within an hour. The team has cleared the backdoor programs, updated the system, and strengthened defenses, and the websites have resumed normal operation.

On October 28, CCTV Military, a Chinese state media outlet, released a video criticizing Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang for "playing the anti-China card again to deceive voters" and "ignoring livelihood demands," claiming his political path relies on manipulating cross-strait confrontation and lacks municipal achievements.

On October 25, Taipei mayoral candidate Chiang Wan-an responded to Kevin Tsai's Weibo post by saying he does not accept anti-democratic threats; another candidate, Puma Shen, said that the freedom of the Taiwanese people should not be interfered with by China, viewing this as a sign of Chinese intervention in the Taiwanese people's self-determination.

On October 22, Storm Media released the latest polling data for the Taipei mayoral election. DPP candidate Pao-yang Shen received 42.8% support, while incumbent Mayor Chiang Wan-an stood at 39.0%, a gap of 3.8 percentage points. There are 35 days left until the November 28 nine-in-one local elections.

A new poll shows that Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang's support rate leads Chiang Wan-an by 17 percentage points.

On October 16, China Taiwan Net published an article attacking Puma Shen, describing a total of $1.84 million in funding from three private organizations as him "taking money" from the US side, but the article acknowledged that the funds did not go directly into his personal account. The Taiwan Democracy Lab had previously stated that it had not received direct funding from USAID, and that Shen's role as chairperson during his tenure was unpaid.

On October 14, the Taiwan Affairs Office announced sanctions against VWAY, the company of Shen Boyang's father, prohibiting it from conducting transactions and cooperation with mainland organizations, enterprises, and individuals.

The tweet shows Shen Boyang recounting the regret of his life: because of KMT smears, he was unable to share a proper last meal with his mother, eating only roadside french fries. He used this story as a warning that the CCP's infiltration of Taiwan is extremely severe and could cause everyone to lose their freedom, and called on everyone to join together to block this infiltration.

According to a tweet, Taiwanese politician Shen Poyang received on-site support from more than 100,000 people at a campaign rally. Shen Poyang has been designated by the Chinese Communist Party as a "diehard Taiwan independence element" and is wanted by it. The tweet argues that the CCP's crackdown has instead become a "godsend assist," boosting Shen Poyang's momentum.

On October 13, Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po published an article alleging that the father of Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen evaded sanctions through another company. Puma Shen's team said his father runs a trade business in Ecuador, purchasing goods from China and multiple other countries.

A street poll in Wenshan District, Taipei City, a Kuomintang stronghold, showed 65 people supporting Shen Boyang and 50 supporting Chiang Wan-an; a previous TVBS poll had Chiang Wan-an leading by only 8 percentage points.

Shen Boyang, a DPP candidate for Taipei mayor, began a visit to Japan on the 11th. During the trip he jogged while wearing a bulletproof vest, saying he would wear it whenever he leaves the country because, as he is currently wanted by the mainland, he needs to pay attention to his safety — drawing mockery from the outside world.

Yahoo Kimo launched an online poll for the Taipei mayoral election on the 14th. As of 9:20 p.m. that evening, about 14,000 people had participated, with 54.7% favoring Chiang Wan-an's re-election and 23.2% favoring Puma Shen.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, in an exclusive interview with Tang Hsiang-lung, attributed the narrowing poll gap to a closely fought race, said Puma Shen's rebound in support was the result of the DPP mobilizing its loyal base, and responded to the controversy over his background by saying there is nothing wrong with bearing the surname Chiang.

TVB released the latest poll on the Taipei mayoral race, with Chiang Wan-an leading Puma Shen by 49% to 41%, an eight-point gap between the two sides.

The TVBS polling center surveyed Taipei citizens from October 3 to 7. Support for Chiang Wan-an stood at 49% and Puma Shen at 41%, with the gap narrowing from 28 percentage points in late May to 8 points; among voters aged 20 to 29, Puma Shen led by 8 percentage points.

On October 8, Chen I-hsin, chairman of the Kuomintang's Culture and Communications Committee, pointed out that Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen had in the past supported the legalization of marijuana, the decriminalization of drugs, and the abolition of the death penalty, but now says the opposite, criticizing him for dodging the issues through sophistry and lacking political integrity.

On October 8, TVBS's polling center in Taiwan released a poll on the Taipei mayoral race, showing Chiang Wan-an with 49% support and DPP candidate Shen Po-yang with 41%, while 55% of residents expect Chiang Wan-an to win re-election.

On October 7, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted four Taiwanese private investigators under the Personal Data Protection Act, alleging that they were commissioned by Hong Kong individuals Ku Kak-yin and Lam Hing, received about NT$360,000, and conducted 24-hour surveillance of Democratic Progressive Party legislator Shen Po-yang between September and November 2024, filming him and his wife and daughter with hidden cameras and sending the footage to the commissioning parties via Telegram; prosecutors sought a sentence of 1 year and 6 months for the principal suspect and issued arrest warrants for the two Hong Kong commissioning parties, stating that the case involved cooperating with foreign hostile forces to infringe upon the rights of Taiwanese citizens.

After Kevin Tsai appeared at the launch event of Puma Shen's campaign headquarters, Chinese brands moved to cut ties with and boycott him.

Military media outlet “Junzhengping” published a post on Weibo criticizing Taiwanese public figures who have voiced support for Shen Boyang, warning that colluding with Taiwan independence will inevitably come at an unbearable cost.

On October 6, "Jun Zhengping," a media account with ties to the mainland military, published an article criticizing an unnamed "Taiwanese public figure" for supporting "die-hard Taiwan independence element" Shen Bo-yang, stating that this is a matter of right and wrong that allows no fence-sitting.

Kevin Tsai attended Shen Boyang's campaign rally as a guest of honor, sitting in the front row and waving green cheering sticks. The related footage sparked heated discussion online and was criticized by some mainland public opinion as supporting Taiwan independence.

Taiwanese host Kevin Tsai attended the campaign headquarters launch event of Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang, sitting in the VIP section in the front row, sparking a strong boycott among mainland netizens.

On October 5, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang gave a media interview, explaining that the old article concerned international pilot programs such as methadone substitution therapy and clean needle exchange, and repeatedly emphasized that he resolutely opposes drugs.

Taiwanese entertainer Kevin Tsai appeared in the rock section of Puma Shen’s campaign headquarters power rally, sparking heated discussion on China’s Weibo and prompting some Chinese brands to distance themselves.

On October 4, Kevin Tsai appeared masked in the front row of a campaign rally for Shen Boyang, who has been listed by the Taiwan Affairs Office as a die-hard separatist, and waved light sticks. Afterwards he responded that he had “just come to see what it’s like,” drawing fierce criticism from commentator Wang Bing-chung, who denounced him as a two-faced person.

On October 4, Taiwanese host Kevin Tsai made a low-profile appearance at the opening ceremony of the campaign headquarters for DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang. Over 120,000 people attended the event, which featured key figures from the Green camp, including Lai Ching-te and Tsai Ing-wen. Kevin Tsai stated he was only there to observe and did not express support.

On October 4, 2026, Kevin Tsai attended the launch event of the campaign headquarters of Puma Shen, the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for Taipei mayor, wearing a hat and a mask to keep a low profile. Seated in the VIP area in the front row and holding a cheering stick, he was recognized by the media, after which his team responded that he was only preparing for an interview.

On October 4, 2026, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang held the inauguration of his campaign headquarters, with DPP leader Lai Ching-te attending to show his support as the election race heats up.

On October 4, Taiwanese entertainer Kevin Tsai, wearing a mask and a hat, attended the inauguration of the campaign headquarters of Shen Boyang, who has been listed by the Taiwan Affairs Office as a diehard Taiwan independence figure and is under investigation by Chongqing police; he waved a baton in greeting at the scene, and after the photos were exposed, mainland netizens condemned it.

After Kevin Tsai attended the inauguration of Puma Shen's campaign headquarters, mainland media criticized him for "standing up for Taiwan independence" figures, related variety shows were taken down in the mainland, and Leapmotor and the Biste series issued statements distancing themselves or removing collaborative content.

At a press conference, the Taiwan Affairs Office responded to matters including Shen Boyang's election candidacy and Kevin Tsai's appearance at the founding rally of a campaign headquarters, along with other related Taiwan-related political developments and entertainers' statements.

Legislative Yuan candidate Shen Boyang went to Shezidao in Shilin to inspect the area, focusing on its long-term development restrictions and the plight of residents, sparking discussion outside over Taipei's municipal governance and the policies of successive mayors.

The Kuomintang camp dug up an early article by Shen Boyang discussing harm-reduction policies abroad and launched an attack under the label of “community drug supply.” Chiang Wan-an repeatedly questioned him in public, his Facebook post drew more than 400,000 comments, blue-camp legislators fired a collective volley, and propaganda vehicles were sent out onto the streets.

An article written 12 years ago by DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang has been unearthed, in which he advocated for providing drugs and clean needles to drug users. He responded that the core of the article was drug addiction treatment, noting that methadone replacement therapy is already an existing service in Taipei, and told his critics to read more literature, leading to accusations of inconsistency.

Poll data show that in the 2026 Taipei mayoral race, Chiang Wan-an's lead narrowed from 28 percentage points in May to 8 percentage points in October, while Puma Shen won majority support among the 20 to 29 age group.

In an interview, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an publicly stated that Taipei absolutely cannot accept the drug decriminalization controversy sparked by Shen Po-yang's early remarks, making it the focus of pan-blue and pan-green confrontation in Taipei.

Puma Shen, who is planning to run for mayor of Taipei, put forward four anti-drug measures, only to have netizens dig up remarks he made in 2014 that were seen as paving the way for drug decriminalization, as well as his proposal to distribute drugs and needles at community centers, drawing fierce criticism from the Kuomintang.

A poll released by the Xinmin Association shows Chiang Wan-an with 41.7% support and Shen Po-yang with 40.5%, narrowing the gap to 1.2 percentage points, within the margin of error.

The Xinmin Cross-Strait Research Association released a poll on the Taipei mayoral election in late September, in which Kuomintang candidate Chiang Wan-an received 41.7% and Democratic Progressive Party candidate Puma Shen received 40.5%, a gap of 1.2 percentage points between the two.

Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers Wang Ting-yu and Shen Po-yang discussed countering the China threat at the Hudson Institute, calling for strengthening whole-of-society resilience to counter lawfare.

A TVBS poll in May showed Chiang Wan-an with 58% support and Puma Shen at 30%, a gap of more than 20 percentage points between the two.

Chongqing police announced that they have opened a case against Shen Bayang on suspicion of the crime of splitting the country, and stated in the notice that a Taiwan civil defense organization is an organization that splits the country.

In June 2025, Zhaoyi Co., Ltd., headed by Shen Tu-cheng, the father of Puma Shen, was sanctioned by the mainland, and was subsequently accused of continuing trade under the names of other companies.

The Taiwan Affairs Office announced that it has listed Shen Bo and Robert Tsao as so-called stubborn Taiwan independence separatists, and imposed sanctions on the Kuma Academy, affecting related family members, organizations, and corporate partners.

In an interview, Puma Shen revealed that the proportion of Taiwanese willing to participate in civil defense has risen from nearly zero in the early days to 18% at the time of the survey, and that the Black Bear Academy plans to launch online courses, parent-child reading materials, and large-scale drills in the future.