As the New Taipei City mayoral race heats up, a population figure cited by Kuomintang candidate Li Si-chuan has been questioned by the rival camp, with the two sides trading barbs from a distance.

• In an interview about joint operations across the Keelung–Taipei–New Taipei–Taoyuan area, Li said the region's population was "close to ten million."
• Chang Chih-hao, a Democratic Progressive Party candidate for the New Taipei City Council, said Li had put the figure at 30 million and questioned whether he understood New Taipei.
• Li's campaign office rejected this, saying his actual words were captured on media live streams and that the other side was deliberately spreading rumours to smear him.
• Li's camp also accused the other side of making fun of his accent, and called on Su Chiao-hui, the DPP's candidate for New Taipei City mayor, to rein in her own people.

Outlook: With the campaign entering a white-hot phase, exchanges between the two camps over gaffes and smears will only grow more frequent in the near term.