Taipei's mayoral race is heating up on the ground, with DPP candidate Shen Po-yang drawing warm crowds at a night market despite bad weather — a good sign for his campaign's momentum.

• Shen worked the Shuangcheng Street night market in Zhongshan District, greeting vendors and sampling street food.
• Rain did not thin the crowd; supporters lined up for autographs on wallets, clothes, pill boxes, and even a PS5 console.
• One volunteer who helped with flood rescue work in Hualien came for a photo; a man with a cast on his hand joked he needed the mayor's blessing.
• An older supporter handed over a stack of research on Tokyo's underground flood-storage tunnels as a policy suggestion for the city.
• A campaign donation package sold out in twenty minutes, and vendors kept pressing free food on him until he insisted on paying.

Outlook: Expect more street-level campaigning as Shen builds his platform, with flood control emerging as a likely policy theme.