Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen faces criticism over mooncake procurement dispute

A political dispute has emerged in Taiwan regarding the procurement of Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes from sheltered workshops. The controversy began after the Legislative Yuan froze or reduced the Presidential Office’s state affairs expenses, preventing the office from fulfilling original orders from 37 protected factories.

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen stated that the Presidential Office ‘abandoned the orders’ and directed the Taichung City Government to step in and purchase the mooncakes to support the five affected local sheltered workshops. Lu also questioned why the central government, despite having a record-high 3 trillion TWD budget, could not resolve the issue.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the Taichung City Council criticized Lu’s rhetoric, arguing that the situation was caused by budget cuts from KMT and Ko Alliance legislators rather than an intentional abandonment of orders. The DPP asserted that Lu is misrepresenting the cause to create a political narrative of the central government being indifferent while the local government acts as a rescuer.