Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), protested vigorously against the change, and even threatened that the Taipei City Government might take its tax revenues and "go it alone." Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), reacted strongly, lambasting Ma for being "selfish" and "robbing from the poor to give to the rich."
台北市長馬英九為台北市民權益受損而一再喊話，甚至表示要「自立自強，走出自己的活路」；台北縣長蘇貞昌則評擊馬英九「本位主義」、「劫貧濟富」，一時之間，硝煙四起。