Taiwan's local election season formally opened in Taichung, with all three main parties staging group registrations to show strength — a neutral but telling early read on the balance of power.

• Registration for mayor, city councillors, and village chiefs runs through September 4.
• Eight DPP councillor candidates from the party's Ing faction registered together first, escorted by the local party chief.
• The TPP sent party leader Huang Kuo-chang himself to accompany six candidates, hoping to win at least three seats and form a caucus.
• Eight younger KMT incumbents registered as a bloc, dressing up as workers from different trades to pitch themselves as a voice for ordinary jobs.
• The two mayoral heavyweights come later — the DPP's Ho Hsin-chun on September 2, the KMT's Chiang Chi-chen on September 3.

Outlook: More faction-by-faction registrations follow this week, with the mayoral race in Taichung shaping up as a straight DPP-KMT fight while the TPP tries to carve out a foothold on the council.