Taiwan's Hsinchu County magistrate race is taking shape as a contest between a tech-and-culture branding pitch and a spread-the-local-projects pitch, with neither side promising anything dramatic.

• KMT candidate Hsu Hsin-ying wants to turn the county into an "AI tech capital" and a "Hakka culture capital," putting AI into transport, hospitals, and schools.
• Hsu is leaning on what the county already has: a cluster of tech companies, a young population, and Hakka heritage, plus help for firms and workers to create jobs.
• She is also promising a cradle-to-grave welfare push, from childcare and schools to elder care and health services.
• DPP candidate Cheng Chao-fang says what worked in Zhubei can work everywhere, and would extend its parks, markets, and public spaces to the other 12 townships.
• Cheng's plans are hyper-local: a seaside deck in Xinfeng, playgrounds in Beipu and Hengshan, forest libraries in Jianshi and Wufeng, pickleball courts in Qionglin and Baoshan.

Outlook: Expect the campaign to stay on this split — high-tech governance versus neighborhood upgrades — as both sides court a county whose wealth comes from the chip industry but whose smaller townships feel left behind.