Taiwan's November local elections are shaping up as a tough fight for the ruling KMT in Taipei and New Taipei, with the opposition DPP sensing an opening — bad news for Chiang Wan-an, who had looked safe.

• Candidate registration has closed for Taiwan's local elections, and Taipei is the marquee race.
• Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an is under fire over a conflict-of-interest row involving his son's overseas exchange study, and for dodging direct questions.
• Former lawmaker Lin Cho-shui says Chiang's problem is that he acts like an ordinary person but does not connect with ordinary people, while DPP challenger Puma Shen does.
• Street polling is mixed: Chiang backers call him practical and clear-headed, while critics say Taipei has not improved in years.
• In New Taipei, the KMT's Lee Ssu-chuan leads the DPP's Su Chiao-hui by under 7 points, close enough that the race is seen as this cycle's biggest prize.

Outlook: Expect the campaign to sharpen over the next three months, with the result read as an early test for the 2028 presidential race — and with Taiwan's security posture in focus as Xi Jinping visits Washington later this month.