Taiwan's local election race is heating up, with the Taiwan People's Party founder personally backing a young city council candidate in Taoyuan's Bade district.

• Ko Wen-je spent the evening waving to voters in the rain alongside council candidate Lin Yan-liang in Bade.
• Heavy downpours forced them to cancel an earlier stop aimed at rush-hour commuters.
• They regrouped at Lin's campaign office to go over vote counts and party breakdowns from the last council race.
• With the New Power Party so far fielding nobody in Bade, Ko pushed for a different campaign strategy to grab those votes.

Outlook: Expect more on-the-ground appearances from party leaders as Taiwan's local elections approach and small parties fight over the same pool of unclaimed votes.