After giving up the Kuomintang's nomination, Ssu Kuang-yang — the son of KMT legislator Wan Mei-ling — has nonetheless decided to enter the Taoyuan City councillor race as an independent, bad news for the KMT's efforts to consolidate its vote in Taoyuan's first electoral district.

• Ssu Kuang-yang completed his registration this afternoon at the Taoyuan City Election Commission, running for city councillor in the first electoral district.
• On the registration form he entered "0" for party endorsement, confirming that he will not carry the KMT banner and will run as an independent.
• He had originally secured the KMT's nomination but gave it up following a controversy, though he never stopped campaigning at the grassroots level.
• He deliberately waited until the other candidates, including Ku Chen-feng and Shen Pei-ling, had finished registering and all left before entering, accompanied by nearly 20 classmates and friends, telling the media only "thank you" and "take care."

Outlook: The pan-blue vote in Taoyuan's first electoral district could now be split, and how the KMT subsequently handles this protégé who has "left the party to run" will be a key point to watch in the campaign.