A fight over why a Taipei mayoral candidate wears body armor abroad has turned into a broader clash over crime and leadership in the city, with both sides trading jabs ahead of the election.

• Puma Shen, the DPP's Taipei mayor candidate, wore a bulletproof vest during a trip to Japan, saying he does so whenever he travels because China has put him on a wanted list.
• Mayor Chiang Wan-an said the vest choice should not be used to belittle the work of Taipei's police, and pointed to Taipei ranking first in a British magazine's global safest-city list.
• Shen fired back that criticizing him is like attacking someone for carrying pepper spray, and said what really wears out frontline officers is "incompetent leadership."
• Critics online countered the safe-city claim by citing a recent shooting in Taipei and a police officer shot dead last month.
• Chiang pushed back again, asking why a candidate who wears armor in Tokyo and the US is instead talking about Taipei traffic, and questioned what the daily vest-wearing is meant to signal.

Outlook: Expect the exchange to keep running as a proxy fight over public safety and China pressure in the run-up to the Taipei mayoral vote.