【Epoch Times news on October 16, 2026】On October 15, Taiwan’s famous host Cai Kangyong confirmed on social media that he will attend the establishment ceremony of Taipei mayoral candidate Jiang Wan’an’s campaign headquarters on October 26. He also hinted that he would be appearing in a black suit on that day.
In his post, Cai Kangyong emphasized the importance of attire due to the recent trend in politics of pursuing a “dignified and solemn” dress code. It is widely interpreted that Cai Kangyong’s choice of wearing a black suit is a humorous yet indirect reference to the incident on the previous day (October 14), when Taipei 101 Chairman Chia Yung-chieh was criticized by legislator Lai Hui-yuan during questioning in the Legislative Yuan for her attire, sparking a debate on the simplicity of political fashion.
Regarding Jiang Wan’an’s team’s previous mention of wanting to invite Cai Kangyong to join on stage to sing the campaign theme song “Taipei Encore,” Cai Kangyong politely stated, “I am delighted to have the opportunity to participate in Mr. Jiang Wan’an’s campaign headquarters establishment event and experience it firsthand. As a guest, I will cheer for everyone on stage from the audience, but please understand that I have no qualifications to participate in the singing and dancing segment.”
In response to this, Jiang Wan’an, interviewed on the afternoon of October 15, stated that his campaign team never demanded Cai Kangyong to be on stage but rather assigned him to sit in the “rocking zone” and participate in the activities. He expressed his delight that Cai Kangyong agreed to attend. Regarding Cai Kangyong’s anticipated choice of attire, Jiang Wan’an generously stated that Taiwan is a democratic and inclusive society where respect should be given to everyone’s attire choices.
On October 10, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang held a campaign headquarters establishment ceremony, where Cai Kangyong made a surprise appearance. At that time, he was wearing an orange shirt matching the visual theme of Shen Boyang’s campaign, holding a cheering stick, and quietly observing from the audience. Although he did not publicly declare support for anyone, he was targeted by Mainland Chinese nationalists, leading Chinese cooperative brands to swiftly cut ties with him, and the Mainland Chinese program he hosted was taken down. Despite his statement in interviews that he would also attend the campaign activities of Kuomintang Taipei mayoral candidate Jiang Wan’an, Chinese public opinion still labeled Cai Kangyong’s actions as supporting “stubborn advocates of Taiwan independence.”
In contrast, Cai Kangyong chose to wear a black suit for his attendance at the establishment ceremony of Jiang Wan’an’s campaign headquarters. Although the entire post seems polite and courteous, the use of phrases like “no qualifications to go on stage,” “dignified and solemn,” and “black suit” led many netizens to speculate that there may be deeper implications.
Taiwanese political worker Zhou Xuan commented when reposting the post: “Cai Kangyong demonstrated what is called the ‘Kyoto-style politeness.'” The so-called “Kyoto-style speech” is a description of a certain communication style of Kyoto residents in Japan, meaning that when speaking, they may not express their true thoughts directly but convey underlying meanings through polite and subtle wording, even hiding sarcastic meanings within seemingly complimentary statements. This type of speech often requires listeners to carefully discern to understand the possible implications behind it. Netizens also left comments such as “said nothing, but said everything” and “perfectly embodies the art of conversation.”
Interestingly, when Taipei 101 Chairman Chia Yung-chieh saw Cai Kangyong’s announcement of wearing a black suit to attend Jiang Wan’an’s campaign headquarters establishment ceremony, she couldn’t help but jest in the comment section, saying, “Haha, don’t wear that, wear the brightest one instead.” Her playful response amused netizens.