Taiwan's year-end local elections formally kicked off with candidate registration opening, and the KMT's Wu Hsu-chih moved first in the race for mayor of Zhubei.

• Registration for township, city, and village-level races opened, and Wu picked up his papers first thing in the morning.
• He is running for the KMT in Zhubei, a fast-growing city in Hsinchu County.
• He ran into other local officials at the registration office and pitched himself as the grassroots-backed candidate.
• Ahead of the school year, he joined a local Lions Club drive to disinfect school grounds against mosquitoes and germs.
• That same group raised emergency money for a school taking in 14 students with special needs and short on funding.

Outlook: Expect more candidates to register in the coming days as the local election race takes shape.