A former Taiwan People's Party legislator born in mainland China has entered the race for mayor of Zhubei, adding a contentious new angle to an already crowded local election.

• Li Chen-hsiu announced a run for mayor of Zhubei City in Hsinchu County, saying she has lived and been registered there since 2013.
• She says she wanted to run back in 2022 but stepped aside when her party had already picked another candidate, then worked on his campaign instead.
• Her platform covers traffic, schools, the environment, recreation and city management, and she has already opened a campaign donation account.
• Her eligibility is the flashpoint: born in Hunan and married into Taiwan, she says she has only ever held a Republic of China passport and gave up household registration on the mainland when she arrived.

Outlook: Expect her China-born background, not her policy platform, to dominate the campaign as rivals test whether the candidacy survives legal challenge.