The New Taipei City mayoral race has begun early, with the camp of KMT candidate Lee Shih-chuan and that of the DPP's Su Chiao-hui trading fire at a distance, raising the temperature of the contest.

• DPP legislator Lin Chu-yin questioned whether Lee Shih-chuan had broken his pledge not to set up a campaign headquarters.
• Lee Shih-chuan's campaign office hit back, saying the remarks had been taken out of context and that they had been made when he was deputy mayor of Taipei, expressing his hopes for election culture.
• Lee's camp stressed that it would not spend heavily on the campaign, and highlighted its record of building bridges, roads and other infrastructure across New Taipei's 29 districts.
• Lee's camp dug up the past episode in which Su Chiao-hui's father, Su Tseng-chang, swore an oath at Bao'an Temple that he would "never run a third time" but then went back on his word, questioning whether the Su family "would even dare to deceive the gods."
• The camp also criticised Su Chiao-hui's side for not discussing policy and doing nothing but demand that its opponent withdraw from the race.

Outlook: A policy debate between the two sides looks unlikely in the near term, and the focus of the exchanges is expected to remain on questions of character and integrity.