TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taipei mayor’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳珮琪), on Monday (July 18) lashed out at Democratic Progressive Party mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) for an alleged smear against her.

The row was sparked by remarks by the former health minister on a radio show hosted by Clara Chou (周玉蔻), when Chen said his wife, a cellist surnamed Sun (孫), does not make the habit of telling people off in Facebook posts or publicly expressing opinions about government policies, wrote CNA.

He was pressed by Chou on a series of straightforward questions about the “wife of an unspecified mayor” who has taken to scolding others via social media. While he did not name anyone, the talk appeared to have offended Peggy Chen, whose Facebook posts have routinely drawn controversy for her blunt way of criticizing politicians or public affairs.

Later Monday, Peggy called Chen out on the matter in a Facebook post, lambasting him for insinuating that she likes to meddle in her husband’s work. Acknowledging the post was likely to invite a flood of criticism, she demanded Chen say explicitly “to which mayor’s wife he was referring” and “stop slandering others by making innuendoes.”

Herself a pediatrician, Peggy has made her name as an outspoken figure who does not stay in the shadow of her husband. In her previous Facebook post in March, she took aim at Chen for what she claimed was a flawed COVID-19 response.