A Taipei mayoral race fight over drug policy has spilled across the strait, with Chinese internet users swarming a Taiwanese entertainer for showing up at a rally — a reminder of how fast cross-strait pressure lands on private citizens.

• Entertainer Kevin Tsai appeared at a campaign event for Puma Shen, the DPP's Taipei mayoral candidate, and was then flooded with attacks from Chinese internet users.
• Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an called on Beijing to respect Taiwan's democratic way of life and said he backs Tsai's right to say whatever he wants.
• The fight started over drug policy: Chiang accuses Shen of blurring the line between drugs and medicine, and rejects supervised injection sites or decriminalization for Taipei.
• Chiang's Facebook post drew a staggering comment war — more than half a million replies — which he blames on an organized flooding campaign by the DPP.
• Both sides are now trading demands for a public debate on drug policy, with the KMT pushing for one and Shen posing his own list of questions.

Outlook: Expect the drug-policy clash to stay the central fight in the Taipei race, with cross-strait online pressure likely to hit more public figures who take sides.