The Hsinchu mayoral race has descended into a war of words over academic credentials as soon as it began. For the Kao Hung-an camp this amounts to a negative attack, but they have chosen to hit back hard and are preparing to file suit.

• Democratic Progressive Party legislator Ker Chien-ming, while accompanying Hsinchu mayoral candidate Chuang Ching-cheng to register his candidacy, said Kao Hung-an's academic credential had been revoked over plagiarism in her thesis.
• Kao Hung-an's campaign headquarters denied this, stressing that the doctorate she earned at the University of Cincinnati in the United States has never been rescinded by the school.
• The campaign headquarters said it is already gathering evidence and handing the matter to lawyers to consider legal proceedings, effectively signalling that it may sue Ker Chien-ming.
• The headquarters also urged that elections should be a contest of policy platforms and governing records, not a matter of rumour-mongering and smears.

Outlook: The credentials dispute is likely to burn through the entire Hsinchu mayoral race, and whether legal action is actually initiated is the next point to watch.