Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang says he's open to keeping cross-strait exchanges with China alive, but only under strict new conditions — a stance aimed at Beijing without closing the door entirely.

• Shen says he'd keep the Taipei-Shanghai Forum's basic framework but change its content, since he couldn't accept much of what it covered in the past.
• His four conditions: protect data security, limit what information gets shared, set no political preconditions, and no Chinese military drills tied to the forum.
• He pointed to China holding military drills right after current mayor Chiang Wan-an attended the last forum, calling that unacceptable, and noted Chiang himself once said drills should pause any further exchange.
• Shen isn't worried about losing international visibility the way the Golden Horse Awards did after China's boycott, arguing Taiwan can grow ties with Japan, South Korea and others instead of depending on the Chinese market.
• He framed it as China's choice whether to engage with Taiwan, not Taiwan's need to bend toward China, while insisting Taiwan keep its free speech and democracy intact.

Outlook: If Shen wins, expect the forum to continue in name but with Taipei pushing back harder against Beijing's political preconditions like the "1992 Consensus."