Taipei Mayor 2026: Chiang Wan-an vs Puma Shen
The race for Taipei City Hall (臺北市) is Taiwan's premier local electoral contest. Six candidates are certified on the ballot, headlined by incumbent Mayor Chiang Wan-an (KMT, No. 5) seeking re-election and lawmaker Puma Shen (DPP, No. 3) mounting an energetic challenger campaign.
InfoMiner measures online discussion, not voting intention. Figures and narratives published on this platform reflect digital attention dynamics, conversational volume, and semantic sentiment distributions. Nothing on this page represents an election forecast or voting projection.
1. Certified Candidates & Symmetrical Profiles
Candidates are presented in order of official ballot lots drawn on October 27, 2026 (PTS News). The two major-party nominees are analyzed across symmetrical standard criteria:
Puma Shen (Shen Pao-yang)
Background & Career
Current Legislator in the 11th Legislative Yuan (DPP at-large ranking No. 2). Associate Professor of Criminology at National Taipei University; co-founder of Kuma Academy (civilian defense education); prominent scholar on disinformation and cognitive warfare resilience; Ph.D. in Criminology from UC Irvine.
Core Campaign Platform
- Civil Resilience Infrastructure: Upgrading municipal disaster shelters, water stockpiling, and neighborhood defense coordination.
- Digital Open Government: Algorithmic transparency in city procurement, public data dashboards, and AI-assisted traffic dispatching.
- Youth Housing Accessibility: Expanding municipal social housing construction along transit nodes and rent subsidies.
- Pedestrian-First Vision Zero: Comprehensive sidewalk reclamation, protected bike paths, and traffic intersection safety redesigns.
Electoral Strengths & Base
High visibility among younger urban demographics, civil society networks, and dedicated pan-Green voters; exceptional digital campaign engagement and innovative grassroots outreach.
Chiang Wan-an
Background & Career
Incumbent Mayor of Taipei City (assumed office December 2022). Two-term Legislator for Taipei's 3rd District (Zhongshan & Songshan); former corporate securities attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (Silicon Valley, California); J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Core Campaign Platform
- Taipei Urban Renewal 3.0: Accelerating regulatory approvals for seismic retrofits; lowering consent thresholds for aging apartments.
- Taipei Dome Mega-Event Economy: Maximizing commercial utilization of the Taipei Dome for world-class sports and entertainment.
- Pro-Family Fertility Incentives: Tiered maternal subsidies, expanded public preschool slots, and parenting allowances.
- Pragmatic City-to-City Exchanges: Maintaining the annual Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum as a low-tension civic bridge.
Electoral Strengths & Base
High personal approval ratings, incumbent resource advantages, polished executive media presence, and entrenched pan-Blue organizational fortresses in Daan, Wenshan, and Songshan.
Other Certified Candidates on the Taipei Ballot
2. Key Municipal Policy Battlegrounds
Seismic Urban Renewal & Aging Housing
Over 72% of residential structures in Taipei City are more than 30 years old, raising acute safety concerns following recent earthquakes. Chiang emphasizes his "Urban Renewal 3.0" fast-tracking framework, while Shen advocates for public interest covenants and transparent profit-sharing mechanisms for displaced elderly tenants.
The Taipei Dome & Mega-Event Economy
The full commercial opening of the Taipei Dome has revived commercial footfall in the East District. Campaign debate focuses on balancing high-yield concert and sports revenues against neighborhood noise complaints, fire safety certifications, and crowd evacuation management during emergency scenarios.
Capital Civil Resilience & Emergency Readiness
As Taiwan's political and command capital, emergency preparedness is an elevated priority. Shen champions total civil defense integration, digital resilience, and transparent disaster drills, while the city government highlights existing firefighter staffing expansions and structural reinforcement of emergency shelters.
Cross-Strait City Diplomacy (Twin City Forum)
The Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum remains the only high-profile institutionalized cross-strait dialogue channel in operation. Chiang argues it serves as a pragmatic municipal bridge that protects dialogue, whereas critics scrutinize reciprocal dignity and security conditions amid regional military tensions.
3. Published Opinion Polls with Statutory Disclosures
In strict accordance with Article 53 of Taiwan's Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, all cited opinion surveys disclose the fieldwork period, executing research entity, commissioning/funding organization, sampling methodology, sample size, and margin of error:
| Fieldwork Dates | Executing Research Entity | Commissioning Organization | Methodology, Sample & Margin | Reported Results | Verified Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sep 16–18, 2026 Released Sep 22 |
Beacon Market Research Lead analyst: Tai Li-an |
Taipei Trust in Democracy Association (信民協會) | Dual-frame landline & mobile random sample; adult registered Taipei residents; n=1,076; ±3.0% (95% CI) |
Chiang 41.7% Shen 40.5% |
ETtoday · UDN · poll-tw.com |
|
Oct 3–7, 2026 Released Oct 8 |
TVBS Poll Center | TVBS Media Group | Landline telephone random sample; Taipei residents aged 20+; n=1,120 (1,054 likely voters); ±2.9% (95% CI) |
Chiang 49% Shen 41% |
Lianhe Zaobao · poll-tw.com |
|
Oct 14–16, 2026 Released Oct 20 |
Beacon Market Research Lead analyst: Tai Li-an |
Taipei Trust in Democracy Association (信民協會) | Dual-frame landline & mobile random sample; registered Taipei residents aged 20+; n=1,075; ±3.0% (95% CI) |
Shen 50.3% Chiang 33.3% |
TTDA Press Release · Lianhe Zaobao · poll-tw.com |
|
Oct 20–25, 2026 Released Oct 28 |
United Daily News Poll Center | United Daily News (聯合報) | Dual-frame landline & mobile random sample; registered Taipei residents; n=1,115; ±3.0% (95% CI) |
Shen 45% Chiang 41% |
Lianhe Zaobao · poll-tw.com |
4. Online Discussion Metrics & InfoMiner Analytics
How InfoMiner Tracks Taipei's Digital Election Pulse
InfoMiner's big data engine tracks thousands of public discussion threads, news mentions, and social interactions daily. We compute Share of Voice (SOV%) and Net Sentiment Scores across candidates without evaluating voting preferences or predicting electoral victory.
For granular, daily-updated sentiment curves, mention volume breakdowns, and topic clustering in Chinese, explore our dedicated interactive hubs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
When is voting day and what are the voting hours?
Voting takes place on Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 08:00 to 16:00 (Taipei time). Eligible voters must present their national identity card, official voting notice, and personal stamp at their designated polling station.
How many candidates are running for Taipei Mayor in 2026?
Six candidates are certified on the ballot: Lin Chih-cheng (No. 1), Hsiao Wen-chien (No. 2), Puma Shen (No. 3, DPP), Kuo Hsi (No. 4), Chiang Wan-an (No. 5, KMT), and Chen Hsin-min (No. 6).
Why does the statutory poll blackout exist in Taiwan?
Under Article 53, Paragraph 2 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, no entity may publish, report, disseminate, or comment on election opinion polls from 10 days before voting day until the close of polling. This blackout ensures voters make decisions without late-stage polling manipulation or bandwagon distortions.