Taiwan's nine-in-one local elections are officially under way, with the Democratic Progressive Party fielding a headline line-up in Taipei and New Taipei that puts pressure on the governing Kuomintang.

• Accompanied by former president Tsai Ing-wen, Puma Shen went to the Taipei City Election Commission with 26 city council candidates to register his run for mayor.
• Tsai presented him with a ship's helm to symbolise holding a steady course, but when asked whether she would serve as chair of his campaign headquarters she gave no direct answer, instead turning to ask Shen who the chair was. The post remains unfilled.
• Su Chiao-hui registered in New Taipei the same day at the head of 36 city council candidates, declaring that New Taipei no longer needs to be a satellite city of Taipei.
• Incumbent Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an has faced questions over his US-citizen son's application for a government-funded study grant; he waited two days before announcing that the subsidy would not be accepted, drawing criticism that he always stops the bleeding only after the fact.

Outlook: Registration closes on 4 September and the campaign enters a 90-day countdown, with the choice of Shen's campaign headquarters chair the main thing to watch next.