Taipei's fenced-off outdoor smoking areas have been ripped out after public mockery, a fresh embarrassment for Mayor Chiang Wan-an ahead of the city's 2026 election.

• Smoking pens near the Gongguan shopping district were surrounded by bare railings, drawing jokes that they looked like dog cages or a prison yard.
• The city removed them quickly once the anger spread, after months of ignoring the complaints.
• Mayor challenger Puma Shen calls it part of a pattern — an expensive sunshade project, child abuse cases, and now this — where the city only fixes things once people explode.
• City officials say the fenced pens were a stopgap borrowed from Japan's model, and that busy districts will get sealed, negative-pressure smoking rooms instead.
• Criticism crossed party lines, with even ruling-party council members saying the city government needs to save itself.

Outlook: Taipei promises a full revamp of its smoke-free city plan by year's end, but the fight will keep feeding the mayoral race.