As Taiwan's election campaign heats up, Chen Pei-chi, the wife of Ko Wen-je, has publicly challenged President Lai Ching-te, putting political pressure on the ruling party.

• Chen Pei-chi said that after Lai Ching-te took office he had Ko Wen-je detained for a year, yet investigators found no illegal activity and no overseas accounts.
• She demanded that Lai Ching-te disclose whether his wife, son and grandson hold overseas assets inconsistent with their income, and said that if he dared to guarantee they do not, she would cast her Taipei mayoral ballot for the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate, Puma Shen.
• She is preparing an international press conference to denounce to foreign media what she describes as persecution under DPP rule, and said Ko Wen-je suffered irreversible physical harm after a year in detention.
• Ko Wen-je and his wife are campaigning separately, with Ko covering Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli as well as central and southern Taiwan, while Chen Pei-chi focuses on the north. Ko Wen-je has called this election crucial to the Taiwan People's Party's survival.
• On the other side, supporters of Puma Shen's campaign were reported to have solicited political donations illegally. Those involved have publicly apologised and said they would cooperate with the judicial investigation. Premier Cho Jung-tai displayed a "Yang current" image on his mobile phone in the legislature, prompting a Kuomintang complaint that he had violated the Election and Recall Act.

Outlook: With less than two months to go before the nine-in-one local elections, the KMT-TPP camp will keep attacking the DPP over judicial and asset controversies, while the DPP's "Yang current" momentum and the controversies surrounding it will also come under closer scrutiny.