The race for Hsinchu mayor has officially begun, with incumbent mayor Kao Hung-an completing her registration accompanied by the chairs of the KMT and the TPP. The situation favours her, but the battlefield is not a simple one.

• Kao Hung-an registered her re-election bid at the Hsinchu City Election Commission on the 2nd, with Taiwan People's Party founding chairman Ko Wen-je and Kuomintang chair Cheng Li-wun appearing alongside her to show their support.
• Ko Wen-je said Hsinchu is his hometown and praised Kao Hung-an's performance in running the city; Cheng Li-wun voiced her support in her capacity as KMT chair.
• Democratic Progressive Party candidate Chuang Ching-cheng registers on the 3rd, campaigning on bringing engineering and technology thinking into the city government to improve transport, education, childcare and long-term care.
• Former KMT spokesman Ho Chih-yung also intends to run, and has questioned whether backing Kao Hung-an amounts to KMT-TPP cooperation, since she is not currently a TPP member.

Outlook: The pan-blue vote could end up split. What follows depends on how the KMT handles Ho Chih-yung's candidacy, and on whether Kao Hung-an can hold on to her record in office as a campaign asset.