Taiwan's ruling DPP is mobilizing young supporters for the year-end local elections, a sign the party is worried about turnout and needs fresh energy on the ground.

• The DPP is sending 150 young volunteers across the island for 60 campaign rallies backing its local candidates.
• The push leans on younger first-time candidates, part of a "new generation" pitch the party is using this cycle.
• Taipei is the main battleground, and the party wants the momentum there to spread to other cities and counties.
• The Taipei mayor's race is already turning on small pocketbook issues, including a plan by incumbent Chiang Wan-an to give schoolchildren more free milk.
• DPP challenger Puma Shen counters that balanced school meals matter more than milk, noting many poorer families never even claim the free milk they are offered.

Outlook: Expect the youth campaign to focus firepower on Taipei, where the mayoral fight looks like the DPP's toughest and most symbolic test before the vote.