Taipei's city government is taking cross-party criticism for announcing flashy projects before checking they can be built, with frontline civil servants left carrying the blame.

• A plan for shade umbrellas in Taipei's Xinyi district drew ridicule after each one was priced at the cost of a sports car, with hundreds of LED lights inside.
• The contractor now says the umbrellas cannot actually be built, leaving the urban development department to absorb the fallout for a project it never led.
• A social housing block at Nangang has had repeated elevator breakdowns, trapping residents, despite earlier promises the problem was fixed.
• Criticism came from Chiang Wan-an's own side of the aisle, with a Taiwan People's Party councillor saying even he could no longer stay quiet and KMT councillors declining to defend the mayor.
• The broader complaint: good intentions, no planning behind them, and policies announced first and worked out later.

Outlook: Expect more scrutiny of Taipei's spending as the sunshade contract unravels and pressure builds on the mayor ahead of the next election cycle.