Taiwan's Taoyuan mayoral race is now officially on, with the DPP challenger pushing hard against the sitting KMT mayor ahead of a three-month campaign.

• DPP candidate Huang Shih-chieh registered his run and toured the city with a motorcade, calling for a head-on debate with no dodging.
• His pitch: overhaul old industrial zones, chase aerospace and drone business, restart the "Asia Silicon Valley" plan, and fill gaps in emergency and maternal-child care.
• He attacked incumbent Chang San-cheng for taking days to respond on the TSMC question without offering any concrete plan, and for sending a proxy to register instead of showing up.
• The city government fired back that Kaohsiung's mayor used a proxy to register in 2022 too, and that the law only requires the paperwork be done.
• Chang, running for re-election on the KMT ticket, skipped campaign theater and stuck to his official schedule.

Outlook: Expect three months of sharp back-and-forth over TSMC investment, industrial upgrading, and healthcare as Taoyuan's 2.35 million residents weigh a change at the top.