DPP legislator Lai Jui-lung has formally registered as a candidate for mayor of Kaohsiung, campaigning on continuity with the current city administration — a signal of stability for Green camp supporters and a formidable opponent for challengers in the opposition.

• Lai went to the election commission to register accompanied by Mayor Chen Chi-mai, DPP legislators and candidates for city councillor.
• He likened governing Kaohsiung to a baseball batting order, casting himself as the fourth batter after Frank Hsieh, Chen Chu and Chen Chi-mai.
• His campaign centres on "four firsts": positive, united, professional, and Kaohsiung first.
• He stressed his own record of ten years in the city government and ten years as a legislator, and pledged to retain the city government's existing talent.
• Chen Chi-mai's high approval ratings are being treated as the Green camp's greatest asset in the campaign.

Outlook: Ahead of the year-end elections, the candidates fielded by the KMT and TPP and the degree of coordination between them will determine whether this Kaohsiung contest is as safely held as the Green camp claims.