Kaohsiung's 2026 mayoral candidates are courting voters with rival promises — welfare spending from the DPP, transit expansion from the KMT.

• DPP candidate Lai Jui-lung set up three local support groups in one day and promised to give away his entire election subsidy after the race.
• That money would fund scholarships for poor children, repeating what he has done after past elections.
• On welfare, he would continue current mayor Chen Chi-mai's approach: more community care stations, and bigger senior and disability transit cards usable for travel, medical visits and sports.
• KMT candidate Ko Ju-chen restarted her temple-front campaign talks and promised to build a metro line to Linyuan, with a possible later extension into Pingtung's Donggang.
• The metro pitch came alongside the KMT's Pingtung county candidate, framing Kaohsiung and Pingtung as a single development zone.

Outlook: Expect both camps to keep trading welfare and infrastructure promises as the campaign builds toward the vote.