The Taipei mayoral race has entered its round of courtesy calls, and Democratic Progressive Party candidate Puma Shen has signalled he is willing to seek advice from former mayors and rivals across party lines — good news for voters hoping for less confrontation.

• Shen did not deny that he would pay visits to Ko Wen-je, Jaw Shaw-kong and other pan-blue figures, stressing that his visits are not restricted by party affiliation.
• A southbound visit to former president Chen Shui-bian is slated for within the month, with the date still being arranged.
• Tsai Ing-wen has already taken on the role of campaign chair in Taitung, New Taipei and Keelung; Shen believes she would be a good fit but worries she is too busy, and his team has yet to finalise anything.
• Shen has at the same time gone on the offensive against the incumbent city government, tying the exorbitantly priced parasols, a child abuse case and the fenced-off smoking area in the Gongguan shopping district into a central theme of "wasting Taipei residents' money and time."
• After the fire at the Lingxiao Hall of Zhinan Temple, Cho Jung-tai travelled south to inspect the site and pledged that the central government could help with repair funding and technical support.

Outlook: The visit schedule and the sparring over the parasol controversy will be the main battleground in the coming weeks, and whether Chiang Wan-an will accept the debate challenge remains to be seen.