Chiang Wan-an Reiterates No-Confidence Motion; Shen Po-yang Criticizes: Ignoring City Governance and Implicitly Acknowledging Poor Performance of KMT Legislators

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an recently reiterated his call for a no-confidence motion, naming Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai as a potential successor. In response, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang stated today that anyone running for Taipei mayor should focus primarily on city governance. He pointed out that Chiang’s calls for a cabinet overthrow and even the dissolution of the legislature are, under current circumstances—with the Kuomintang (KMT) holding a majority in the Legislative Yuan—tantamount to openly admitting that the current legislators are performing extremely poorly.

Shen further listed a series of ongoing municipal issues in Taipei, including previous rat infestations and flooding, as well as recent controversies involving child abuse and predatory teachers—matters of high concern to Taipei parents. He also cited incidents of budget waste and illegal tree cutting, emphasizing that advancing and resolving municipal affairs should be the top priority. The debate over a no-confidence motion belongs at the national level, not within city governance.

Regarding the current state of the Legislative Yuan, Shen noted that recent public opinion polls show a 60 percent dissatisfaction rate with the legislature. He criticized the KMT and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) coalition for causing chaos in the legislature, stating that Chiang’s timing in calling for a no-confidence vote and legislative dissolution effectively acknowledges the legislature’s poor performance.

Shen questioned why, with the next legislative elections originally scheduled for 2028 and multiple KMT legislators from Taipei—including Hsu Chiao-hsin and Lo Chih-chiang—being close associates of Chiang, he does not instead engage in dialogue and urge them to fulfill their duties, rather than rushing to dissolve the legislature and hold new elections this year.

Shen believes Chiang has now proposed a no-confidence motion twice, calling it a mere political feint, with the core objective being a complete legislative reshuffle following a cabinet collapse. Given that most current legislators are KMT members, the public should seriously consider why Chiang is pushing for this now instead of waiting until 2028.

DPP legislator Wu Sz-yu commented that Chiang’s move is clearly aimed at positioning himself for 2028, using electioneering to eliminate internal party rivals and continuously boosting his public profile. She emphasized that although Chiang has been repeatedly name-dropping Chen Chi-mai lately, no amount of association will make him into Chen. She urged Chiang that if he cannot become like Chen, he should instead learn from New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih and focus on doing solid, practical work.