The war of words in the Taipei mayoral race is heating up, with DPP candidate Puma Shen using a new spokesperson line-up to emphasise "responsiveness", taking aim at incumbent mayor Chiang Wan-an.

• Puma Shen's campaign office has introduced two spokespeople, Tsai Yi-kai and Lin Yu-tung, saying the aim is to make it easier for the media and residents to get answers.
• The campaign's slogan is "Ask A, get A+++++++", a jab at Chiang Wan-an, who is often criticised for "answering B when asked A".
• The trigger was an incident involving the Taipei City Government's new spokesperson, Wei Wen-hsuan, who, when asked in the city council about delays to the sunshade canopy project, merely repeated what the mayor had already said; the clip circulated online.
• Shen criticised the approach, saying that a spokesperson who only restates the mayor's words is effectively building another wall between the mayor and the public.

Outlook: In the near term, the focus of attack and defence in the Taipei mayoral race will fall on municipal communication and the quality of responses, and clashes between the two sides' spokespeople will only become more frequent.