Former Taiwan People's Party legislator Li Chen-hsiu, a spouse from mainland China, has entered the race for mayor of Zhubei, once again making her eligibility to run and the dispute over her dual nationality a focal point in political circles — bad news for the TPP.

• Li announced her candidacy on the 26th and responded to questions the following day, insisting that dual nationality "was never an issue in the first place."
• The Mainland Affairs Council holds that mainland spouses must have held household registration for a full 10 years after cancelling their original registration before they can run for office; she argues that the law is not retroactive and that she already met the requirements before the interpretive ruling was issued.
• The eligibility review will be handled by the Hsinchu County Election Commission. She has called on civil servants to "administer according to the law" and criticised the Lai administration for political manoeuvring.
• The TPP has already expelled her from the party, and she will run as an independent, saying the election "had absolutely nothing to do with Huang Kuo-chang" in her thinking.
• Her candidacy could split votes with TPP nominee Chiu Chen-yuan, but she said that is something for the party chairman to worry about.

Outlook: The Hsinchu County Election Commission's eligibility ruling will determine whether she can take part, and it will also test the TPP's electoral prospects in Zhubei.