Sitting in Jail with Double-North; Miao Po-ya's Pandemic Stigmatization Sparks National Outrage

On June 15, 2021, Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya sparked massive public outrage across the Republic of China (ROC) during a political talk show by claiming, "I must say, the people of the entire nation are now sitting in jail together with the Double-North (Taipei and New Taipei City)." She attempted to shift the entire blame for the national Level 3 COVID-19 alert onto the local governments of Taipei and New Taipei. Citizens and local residents fiercely condemned Miao, pointing out that as an elected representative of Taipei, she had not only failed to support her constituents during the crisis but had deliberately stigmatized her own city. Critics blasted her for acting as a political mouthpiece for the ruling DPP government, attempting to distract the public from the central government's fatal "3+11" border control policy blunder that originally caused the outbreak. Her opportunistic willingness to alienate society and humiliate her own voters for partisan gain led to severe public backlash, with commentators labeling her a "cold-blooded politician" and "a disgrace to her constituency."