By Shen Nai-hsun
This article was first published by China Times on Sept. 21, 2026, and is republished with permission.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang (沈伯洋) has recently surged in popularity, creating what supporters have called the “Po-yang Current.” Some have even compared it with the “Han wave” of 2018.
That comparison may involve a certain amount of excessive praise. Nevertheless, if the opposing Kuomintang camp dismisses the current, allows it to develop, and does nothing to contain it, it could eventually alter Taiwan’s political climate much like a real ocean current.
Let me begin with the conclusion. The “Po-yang Current” is essentially a localized, artificially created political weather system, but it could expand into a regional climate disturbance at any time.
(Editor’s note: The Chinese term yangliu (洋流), meaning “ocean current,” is being used as a play on Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang’s name. Hanliu (韓流), or the “Han wave,” refers to the political movement that formed around Han Kuo-yu during the 2018 local elections, and which saw Han win Kaohsiung for the KMT for the first time since 1998.)
When Shen was asked whether the current was spreading beyond its original base, he said it had formed naturally across Taiwan. That is simply not true.
Political storms develop much like disturbances in the atmosphere. They begin within an ideological echo chamber, where intense enthusiasm and personal devotion generate the heat needed for the movement to grow into a larger storm.
The original force behind the “Po-yang Current” is inevitably rooted in the earlier Bluebird movement. Through a series of successful public events in Taipei, its supporters have maintained their internal enthusiasm while gradually drawing in people around them who were previously indifferent to politics.
At this stage, the process resembles the early formation of the Han wave. Both began with large numbers of highly committed core supporters voluntarily throwing themselves into campaign activities. Both also depended on a candidate with a degree of political charisma who could use carefully packaged political language to persuade outsiders that a genuine political ideal was taking shape.
That allowed the snowball to grow and the crowds to increase.
Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) eventually expanded his movement beyond its original echo chamber and into the broader working population. The “Po-yang Current” has not yet reached that point and still resembles a variation of celebrity fandom among younger voters. Even so, there are signs that it is beginning to attract a wider age range.
The greater danger is that KMT supporters may continue to see the movement merely as a political product created by Bluebird supporters who were unwilling to accept defeat following the failure of the 2025 recall campaign.
That interpretation would place the party at a serious disadvantage in any effort to contain it.
The KMT must reconsider how the Han wave formed, expanded, and eventually became a political whirlwind.
Han Kuo-yu’s personal appeal was only part of the explanation. The movement broke out of its original circle because the wider political environment at the time was defined by a broad sense of dissatisfaction with the DPP.
Public anger over ineffective government, political arrogance and a loss of connection with voters acted like the warm seawater that feeds a typhoon. Dissatisfaction with the DPP gathered into a national political storm.
The KMT today, by contrast, appears unable to regain momentum.
Party Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) has not demonstrated an ability to revive the party, and her influence over the local elections has been minimal. The three prominent figures once described as the “Bald Man, Tough Man and Swallow,” referring to Han Kuo-yu, Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), have also failed to demonstrate the ability to guide the election nationwide.
The KMT now faces a serious shortage of political stars. Elections around the country have consequently become unstable, with many potentially successful candidates forced to depend on their own efforts and the support of powerful local factions to maintain their positions.
With the “Po-yang Current” approaching the point where it could break out of its original circle, the KMT must recover the lesson of 2018: the Han wave grew by collecting and channeling widespread public dissatisfaction.
The party must be willing to confront the ruling party nationally and in individual cities and counties, gathering public grievances and making them the central line of its election campaign.
The “Po-yang Current” currently lacks the level of public anger needed to fuel a political storm against the opposition. It may therefore be unable to become a powerful typhoon like the Han wave.
Nevertheless, it could still develop into the political equivalent of a mild typhoon, disrupting local races and drawing centrist voters away from the KMT.
Acknowledging and accepting the existence of the “Po-yang Current” is the first step in the KMT’s counterattack ahead of the year-end elections.
Managing and containing its political effects must become one of the party’s highest priorities, both for the local elections and as it begins preparing next year for the presidential race.
If the KMT wants to escape the political pressure created by the movement, it can no longer allow the current to spread unchecked. Cutting off the political energy that allows it to grow has become essential groundwork for the party.
If the KMT continues to protect its pride by refusing to acknowledge that the current exists, it may be left to endure years of political climate disruption created by the movement.
About the Author:
Shen Nai-hsun (沈迺訓) is a Kaohsiung-born freelance writer and political commentator. The views expressed in this article are those of the author.
