Huang Shan-shan, a heavyweight figure in Taiwan's People Party (TPP), has confirmed she is withdrawing from electoral politics — bad news for a party still searching for a candidate for Taipei mayor.

• Huang said she will not take part in any future elections. She entered politics at 28 and has run nine times since, including six times for Taipei city councillor, twice for the Legislative Yuan and once for Taipei mayor.
• She said she had wanted to step away back in 2015 when she fell ill; her mission is now complete and she has no regrets, and in future she will continue to follow law, policy and Taiwan's freedom and security in a different capacity.
• Former minister without portfolio Chang Ching-sen publicly called on the TPP to draft her to run for Taipei mayor. Huang Kuo-chang shot back that Chang was overstepping, while Huang Shan-shan said her next step was her own business and she owed no one an explanation.
• Elsewhere, the TPP's troubles keep mounting: Hsu Chun-ying, a mainland Chinese spouse, was accused of gathering intelligence on political parties for the Chinese Communist Party and interfering in the 2024 elections, and received a heavy seven-year sentence at first instance. The Ministry of the Interior said her residency in Taiwan can be revoked once the verdict is final.
• In the Taipei mayoral race, incumbent mayor Chiang Wan-an still leads the Democratic Progressive Party's Puma Shen by a wide margin in the polls, but the gap has narrowed from about 28 percentage points to around 15.

Outlook: With roughly 100 days to go before the vote, the TPP has no one to field in Taipei and must choose between blue-white cooperation and being absorbed by the Kuomintang, while Chiang Wan-an's re-election bid remains on solid ground.