An interview with Puma Shen, the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for Taipei mayor, has gone viral — a clear boost to his campaign and a source of pressure on incumbent mayor Chiang Wan-an.

• The video of Shen's interview with Wang Wei-chung broke one million views after going online, far above the roughly 200,000-plus that Chiang's interview accumulated four years ago.
• Many commenters who identified themselves as long-time Kuomintang voters said that after watching it they would be willing to switch their votes to Shen.
• What resonated was the substance of the conversation, which emphasised institutional reform and a five- to ten-year long-term plan rather than a list of policy pledges for a four-year term.
• Jaw Shaw-kong said the Broadcasting Corporation of China has sent repeated written invitations for an interview with Chiang, but has yet to receive his consent; Chiang responded that he has been busy with the recent general interpellation sessions and that his staff are still making arrangements.
• The programme drew criticism from both the blue and green camps at once, which only pushed its profile higher.

Outlook: Whether Chiang accepts the same kind of interview outside his own echo chamber will be the next point to watch, and Shen is expected to keep courting blue-camp voters.