A Taiwanese actress who once said she wanted to give up her Taiwanese household registration for Chinese citizenship is now running for local office, and her pro-Beijing record is drawing fire.

• Chen Chu-yin, a 46-year-old stunt and action actress, is running for New Taipei city councillor in the Xizhi–Jinshan–Wanli district for the Labour Party.
• She admits she seriously considered taking Chinese citizenship in 2022 while working in the mainland film industry, but says she never actually received a Chinese ID card.
• Her defence is that wanting something and legally having it are two different things, and that loving Taiwan does not require supporting independence.
• The race sits inside a messy local election season: a Taipei borough chief candidate quit after his sexual assault conviction surfaced, and the KMT and TPP have failed to agree on a joint candidate in Hsinchu County.
• Taiwan's job market is splitting too, with youth unemployment near 12% even as entry-level job listings rise.

Outlook: Expect her citizenship record to stay the central attack line through the year-end vote, with rivals pressing for tighter legal rules on who can run.