Taiwan's November local elections kicked off with the fight for New Taipei City, the island's most populous area, and both major parties are throwing their biggest names into it.

• The ruling DPP's candidate Su Chiao-hui opened her campaign headquarters with President Lai Ching-te, former president Tsai Ing-wen, and Kaohsiung's mayor all showing up to back her.
• More than 20,000 supporters turned out in the rain, a sign the DPP thinks it can finally break the KMT's two-decade hold on New Taipei.
• The KMT's Li Si-chuan campaigned alongside Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an, pitching the two cities as a joint project on transport, construction, and the economy.
• Su says she has been running for over 800 days and has moved from behind in the polls to ahead.
• Across Taiwan, 23 people are competing for the six big-city mayor seats and 58 more for 16 county and city posts.

Outlook: Three months of hard campaigning ahead, with votes counted on November 28.