The war of words ahead of Taiwan's 2026 local elections is heating up, with Puma Shen, the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for Taipei mayor, at the centre of the fight after he was seen jogging in Tokyo wearing a bulletproof vest — a negative signal for his personal image.

• Shen said he is wanted by mainland China and wears a bulletproof vest whenever he is abroad, calling it a way of being accountable to voters.
• Former legislator Shen Fu-hsiung mocked the episode as "a huge joke," arguing that Beijing would not even consider him worth the trouble of arresting.
• Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an responded that both Taipei and Japan are very safe, but said he respected individual judgement; online commenters shot back by pointing to a recent string of shootings in Taipei.
• Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim returned to Taiwan from Italy on a flight that deliberately skirted mainland Chinese airspace and briefly switched off its tracking signal, underscoring national security concerns.
• Talks on a Kuomintang–Taiwan People's Party alliance broke down in Zhubei, and the TPP's slipping support is seen as the biggest worry for the opposition coalition.

Outlook: In the run-up to the nine-in-one elections at the end of the year, cross-strait security issues and whether the KMT and TPP can unite will continue to dominate the campaign battle.