The race for Taipei mayor has started early, but the focus for the Blue and Green camps has split along two lines: the "2028 presidential race" and "2026 local livelihood issues."

• The latest poll by ZhenMedia shows Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an with the highest support among the Kuomintang's potential presidential candidates.
• Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen responded that what is being contested at the end of the year is city and county mayorships, and the topics that should be discussed are local livelihoods and the economy.
• Shen argued that there is no need to hype 2028 now, and that those who intend to run for president can talk about it when 2028 comes.
• Three leading Kuomintang figures — Chiang Wan-an, Han Kuo-yu and Lu Shiow-yen — appeared together and jointly criticised Premier Cho Jung-tai for not countersigning bills passed by the Legislative Yuan.
• After losing three consecutive presidential elections, the Kuomintang faces intense attention, both within and outside the party, over who can lead it back into power.

Outlook: With less than four months to go before the year-end city and county mayoral elections, Chiang Wan-an's strong polling will continue to be treated as a bellwether for 2028, while the countersignature dispute between the executive and legislative branches could heat up further.