Taiwan's Taichung mayoral race is heating up, with the two main candidates pitching very different messages — one aimed at business and foreign investors, the other at neighborhood voters.

• Kuomintang candidate Chiang Chi-chen spoke in English at an American Chamber of Commerce dinner, promising a city government that solves problems instead of just announcing policies.
• He wants a robotics manufacturing park to build on Taichung's existing machinery, metals, optics and aerospace industries, and to help smaller firms cut costs and reach global markets.
• On foreign ties, he wants real business matchmaking and trade-fair deals with industrial cities like Milan, Stuttgart and Phoenix, rather than symbolic sister-city agreements.
• Democratic Progressive Party candidate Ho Hsin-chun launched a website section featuring more than 100 local shops across Taichung's districts, urging residents to spend money in their own neighborhoods.

Outlook: Expect both camps to keep splitting the difference between an industry-and-investment pitch and a grassroots small-business pitch as the campaign builds.