A wave of foreign accounts congratulating Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang on a win he hasn't had yet has raised fresh worries about outside meddling in Taiwan's local elections.

• Right after Hsieh registered to run for re-election, his social media pages filled with Vietnamese accounts and simplified Chinese posts wishing him victory.
• Simplified characters are used in China, not Taiwan, so residents suspect an outside influence campaign.
• Hsieh denies any link, saying neither he nor his office asked for it and his team is baffled.
• He urged the public to play detective and dig out who is behind the accounts.
• The episode lands months before Taiwan's year-end local elections, a familiar target for online manipulation.

Outlook: Expect more scrutiny of foreign-linked bot activity as Taiwan's campaign season heats up.