Taiwan's Taipei mayoral race turns bitter as prosecutors confirm that DPP candidate Puma Shen really was followed and filmed — bad news for the critics who mocked him as paranoid.

• Taipei prosecutors charged four private investigators who were paid by two Hong Kong clients to watch Shen and his family around the clock, including a hidden camera outside his home.
• Shen said the blue-camp politicians and influencers who called it paranoia or "just a dashcam" hurt him, and he blames the same group for the current attacks on him over drugs.
• One KMT Taipei councillor, Yang Chih-tou, publicly apologised and said cross-party condemnation of foreign surveillance is the only acceptable stance.
• Shen defended his record on the death penalty, saying Taiwan has no consensus to abolish it and he has never hidden his past writings.
• Beijing is pressing on the campaign from the outside too, with a PLA-linked account attacking host Kevin Tsai for appearing at Shen's campaign launch.

Outlook: Shen and incumbent Chiang Wan-an have both agreed to a televised debate, so the drug, death-penalty and China-pressure fights will sharpen as the 2026 local elections close in.