The war of words in the Taipei mayoral race is heating up, serving as a stress test for the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate Puma Shen while, for now, working in favour of the incumbent Kuomintang mayor Chiang Wan-an.

• Ko Wen-je said the reason the KMT's Chiang Wan-an feels able to skip campaign appearances for Taiwan People's Party councillors is that the DPP's pick, Puma Shen, is too weak to apply any pressure.
• Shen shot back that Ko was also called too weak when he first ran for mayor, and went on to win anyway.
• Shen has shifted to a city-government oversight message, focusing on a suspected child abuse case at a private preschool and accusing the Taipei City Government of dragging its feet for a week without taking immediate action.
• Polling shows more than half of voters view Shen unfavourably, and he is seen as a potential drag on Su Chiao-hui's campaign in New Taipei City, where the pan-blue camp still leads.
• Blue-white cooperation talks remain deadlocked in districts such as Zhubei, and both sides will have to make trade-offs before the registration deadline on 4 September.

Outlook: With three months to go until the local elections, the success or failure of blue-white integration and whether Puma Shen can break out of his echo chamber will determine the direction of the races in Taipei and New Taipei.