With the Taipei mayoral race under way, Democratic Progressive Party candidate Shen Po-yang has rolled out a set of youth policy proposals, and the city government's Department of Youth Affairs immediately questioned where the money would come from — a windfall for young voters, but a strain on the city treasury.

• Shen Po-yang put forward three main programmes — a City Youth Fund, a youth AI usage subsidy, and a Taipei Youth Dream Fund — aimed squarely at the youth vote.
• The Taipei Department of Youth Affairs estimates these policies would cost nearly NT$3 billion a year, twice the combined annual budgets of the youth affairs departments of all six special municipalities.
• The "City Youth Fund" alone would require nearly NT$2 billion annually; the department has asked for an explanation of the long-term funding source and questioned whether it would crowd out other municipal construction projects.
• The department also stressed that it has already launched the country's first full subsidy for youth AI tools, youth international exchanges spanning four continents, and a career transition programme run in partnership with businesses.
• Turning the tables, the department called on Shen Po-yang to use his position as a legislator to first press the Executive Yuan to complete the countersignature of the "Act on Growth and Future Accounts for Children and Youth in Taiwan."

Outlook: Youth policy and the dispute over funding are expected to become the central battleground of the Taipei mayoral race, with both sides continuing to trade budget figures in the near term.