Taipei's mayoral race has turned into a bidding war over family and youth handouts, and a city council candidate says the cash is missing the real problem — young people are leaving anyway.

• Mayor Chiang Wan-an and DPP challenger Puma Shen have both rolled out women's, children's, and youth policy packages.
• Independent council candidate Chen Yi-chieh says the contest is only about who hands out more money, not who keeps young people in the city.
• Taipei's 15-to-29 population fell by more than 12% over four years, and the city's total population dropped too.
• She wants hard targets instead — jobs, affordable housing, childcare, and startups — published every year so residents can see how many young people actually stayed.
• On childcare, an hour of shortened workday helps little when schools close for summer and winter breaks; she wants night, weekend, and holiday care instead.

Outlook: Expect youth and childcare handouts to keep escalating through the campaign, with pressure building to show whether any of it slows the exodus.