A minor political spat in Taiwan over weekend traffic has turned into a proxy fight about Taipei's congestion problem ahead of local elections.

• President Lai Ching-te, campaigning in Yilan, joked that as a "Yilan son-in-law" he knows better than to visit on a Saturday morning — a dig at Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an.
• Chiang had shown up 40 minutes late to a Yilan campaign event the previous Saturday after getting stuck in the Hsuehshan Tunnel.
• Chiang brushed it off, saying he likes going to Yilan any day of the week, "especially when I was courting my wife."
• Rival Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen sharpened the attack, saying Neihu residents have lost a decade of their lives to traffic, not 40 minutes.
• Separately, KMT lawmakers froze the presidential office's discretionary budget, killing an order for 15,000 Mid-Autumn gift boxes from sheltered workshops that employ disabled workers.

Outlook: Traffic and the frozen budget both look set to become campaign lines as Taiwan's local elections approach.