Chiang Wan-an's 'hot pot' metaphor draws fire; Shen Po-yang offers 'shaved ice' analogy for Taipei

Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an has drawn criticism for repeatedly using the metaphor of "hot pot" to describe the city. Critics have labeled him "Chiang the script machine" for his consistent use of the analogy in at least four significant public occasions.

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Hot pot is very popular today, making me hungry in the middle of the night. But Taipei, for me, is more like a bowl of shaved ice. A hot pot cooks ingredients into one pot; shaved ice is the opposite, each bite is different: because each district, each topping, is different.

In response, Democratic Progressive Party mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang offered a contrasting metaphor: shaved ice. Shen explained that while a hot pot blends ingredients into a single, unified dish, shaved ice offers a different experience with each spoonful. He elaborated on this by likening different elements of Taipei to toppings on shaved ice. The surrounding mountains became the cool ice, mountain trails the sprinkled peanut powder, rivers the drizzled brown sugar syrup, Yangmingshan's hot springs the warm mochi, and Maokong's tea plantations the sweet aftertaste of tea jelly and grass jelly. The tech and financial corridors were represented by a string of pearls.

Shen further described the city's human element using colorful taro and sweet potato balls as symbols for people of different generations and lifestyles meeting in the city center. He emphasized that each 'ball' retains its distinct color yet comes together in the same bowl, representing the resilience of Taipei's citizens. This imagery, he concluded, better reflects his vision of Taipei, a city where mountains, rivers, people, and diverse flavors coexist within the same basin.

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The high, cool ice represents the mountains embracing Taipei. The peanut powder sprinkled on the ridgeline is the forest trails encircling the city. The brown sugar syrup drizzled from the west winds our rivers. A few pieces of burnt mochi on the north, a bit of warmth hidden in the coolness, like the hot springs in Yangmingshan. Adding tea jelly and grass jelly to the south is the sweet aftertaste from the Maokong tea mountains. A string of pearls to the east represents the new technology and financial corridor.

Shen's 'shaved ice' analogy quickly sparked lively online discussion. Netizens praised the vivid imagery, with comments like "Much more substance!" and "I want to collect this beautiful Taipei!" Many lauded his literary skill, with one user writing, "Your literary talent far surpasses Chiang Wan-an's." Others found the description poetic, asking, "Can you do no wrong?" and expressing a desire to eat and be moved by the city's essence.

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And in the middle are taro balls and sweet potato balls of various colors. It's people of different generations and lifestyles meeting in the city center. Each still has its own color, yet they gather in the center of the bowl. Q-ed together, representing the resilience of the citizens. Mountains, rivers, people, various flavors, all in the same basin, the same bowl. This is more like the Taipei in my heart.