TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Statebuilding Party member and Taipei City Council candidate Wu Hsin-tai (吳欣岱) on Tuesday criticized the smoking ban at the Taipei Lantern Festival, arguing the city government should establish additional designated smoking areas.

Wu said that helping people quit smoking requires providing reasonable outlets for stress relief, per UP Media. Pointing to hundreds of cigarette butts littering Dihua Street during the Lunar New Year market period, she said the size of smoke-free zones is less important than ensuring reasonable spacing between smoking areas.

She said having smoking areas within a three-minute walk would make it easier for smokers to comply with regulations. Forcing people to walk more than 10 minutes to smoke, she argued, may make enforcement more difficult, per TVBS.

Wu’s remarks drew criticism from the KMT, which governs Taipei. KMT Taipei City Councilor Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧) said public health, not smoker convenience, should be the priority, per UDN. She warned that increasing the number of smoking areas could expose more people to secondhand smoke.

Potential KMT Taipei City Council candidate Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) said Tokyo, which Wu cited as an example of an effective smoking policy, achieved its progress through cooperation between central and local governments, per Newtalk. Yang said Taipei previously proposed building smoking areas similar to those in Tokyo, but the plan was rejected by the central government.

Yang added that the Lantern Festival is primarily a family-oriented event. She stressed that the health of the majority should take precedence over the convenience of a minority.

Wu later responded to the criticism, saying Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) introduced the smoke-free policy and refused to heed alternative suggestions, per SETN.