The race for Changhua County magistrate has officially begun, and independent candidate Chiu Chien-fu has gone public about being urged by senior figures to drop out, bringing the Democratic Progressive Party's risk of a split in central Taiwan into the open.

• The Changhua County Election Commission began accepting registration papers today for the year-end magistrate election, and Chiu Chien-fu turned up in person on the first day.
• Chiu said he had received a call the previous day from a national policy adviser to the Presidential Office urging him to think again, but he declined to name the caller, saying only that the person was a national policy adviser from central Taiwan.
• He decided to run after leaving the DPP in June, and stressed that no one's persuasion would change his mind.
• With the DPP nominating Chen Su-yueh and the Kuomintang nominating Wei Ping-cheng, the three form a three-way contest in which the independent plays spoiler.
• Wei Ping-cheng has already held 25 briefing sessions across the county's townships, campaigning on a pledge that social welfare benefits will not be cut; Chen Su-yueh, in her capacity as a legislator, has arranged a parent-and-child theatre performance in Lukang to drum up support.

Outlook: The three are expected to complete their registration between September 2 and 4. If Chiu Chien-fu holds to his candidacy, he could siphon off green-camp votes, making the contest for Changhua County magistrate harder to predict.