Kaohsiung's mayoral race is heating up, with both main candidates courting local voters on separate fronts — sports venues and environmental grievances.

• Lai Jui-lung, the DPP's candidate for Kaohsiung mayor, pitched a five-part upgrade for the National Stadium, which has hosted big concerts and sports events for over 17 years.
• The plan covers new seats, smarter signage, more ground-floor restrooms, better turf and track care, and improved bag storage.
• He also wants a new giant LED screen and to swap out power-hungry air conditioning to fit Taiwan's net-zero push.
• Ko Chih-en, the KMT's candidate, paid respects to a late village chief in Dashu who fought alongside her against a solar project that cleared 51 hectares of hillside forest.
• She said fears of landslides hitting nearby homes drove their joint campaign, and she will keep pressing the issue.

Outlook: Expect both candidates to keep working local issues — venue upgrades and land-use fights — as the Kaohsiung race builds toward the vote.