Taiwan's plan to hand every citizen NT$10,000 next year has turned into an election-year bidding war, and the ruling DPP is daring opposition mayors to pay for their own top-ups.

• President Lai Ching-te promised a NT$10,000 payout to every citizen next year, calling it a share of the country's AI-driven gains.
• Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an mocked the amount and said it should be NT$20,000, and his party has backed him.
• DPP Taipei candidate Puma Shen replied that Chiang can add money himself if the city has a surplus and does not borrow to do it.
• DPP figures point to Taipei sitting on a surplus of more than NT$57 billion, enough to fund a local top-up without central help.
• The DPP says it opposed an earlier handout only because it would have been paid with borrowed money, and it accuses opposition mayors of talking big while pleading poverty at home.

Outlook: With local elections about 100 days away, expect more candidates in Taichung, Hsinchu and elsewhere to promise their own cash top-ups as the handout becomes a central campaign issue.