TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) defended DPP Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) on Friday after she criticized Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) over the city’s proposed parasol project in Xinyi District.
During a Thursday city council meeting, Chien questioned the city’s handling of the parasol project, accusing the government of dividing the NT$59.6 million budget into two separate items below NT$50 million to avoid oversight, per CNA. Chiang rejected the accusation, saying the two budget items served different purposes and that the city government's handling complied with regulations.
The exchange escalated after Chien questioned why the cost of lighting equipment for the parasols had increased from NT$40,000 per unit to NT$740,000 per unit, per Liberty Times. Chien accused Chiang of avoiding responsibility by relying on officials to answer questions, while Chiang accused her of abusing information requests and placing excessive demands on civil servants.
Shen defended Chien, saying Taipei City Government has a responsibility to provide clear explanations about the parasol project, per Tai Sounds. He criticized Chiang’s response as arrogant and said voters would not accept such behavior.
The project has drawn criticism over its cost, with Taipei planning to spend more than NT$59 million on eight parasols in Xinyi District, NOWNews. Similar installations in the Ximen shopping district reportedly cost about NT$700,000 per unit, while comparable projects in New Taipei cost about NT$300,000 to NT$400,000 per unit. The Xinyi project costs roughly NT$7 million per unit.
The Department of Urban Development previously said the parasols and related installations cost about NT$1.4 million per unit, with the remaining budget covering construction, infrastructure work and other expenses, per UDN. The department said the higher initial cost reflected the project’s trial nature.
Chien has also faced criticism over previous information requests involving the Taipei Police Department, per Knews. Reports alleged that she demanded extensive documents after an aide received a traffic fine.
Chien denied the accusations, saying the criticism was intended to distract attention from the recall campaign against KMT lawmakers.
