A budget cut that hit charity workshop gift-box orders has turned KMT lawmaker Weng Hsiao-ling into Taiwan's most disliked politician, and the DPP is now using her as a weapon against KMT candidates ahead of the November local elections.

• Negative sentiment about Weng has stayed above 80% for three straight weeks, a level normally seen only after major scandals like drunk driving.
• The anger started when KMT and TPP lawmakers cut and froze the presidential office's budget for buying Mid-Autumn gift boxes from sheltered workshops that employ disabled workers.
• The DPP is spreading the message that a vote for any KMT mayor candidate is a vote for Weng, with graphics targeting 18 candidates including Taipei's Chiang Wan-an.
• KMT figures are scrambling to contain the damage: Lu Shiow-yen and Cheng Li-wun stepped in to buy the gift boxes, and Fu Kun-chi bowed in apology.
• Chiang Wan-an has his own problem, with over 70% negative sentiment driven by a child molestation case and a caged smoking area controversy.

Outlook: The DPP will keep pushing the attack through the campaign, though it is unclear whether voters will link a Taipei-based at-large lawmaker to local candidates.