Taiwan's ruling party is betting heavily on the Taipei mayoral race and has framed attacks on its candidate as cognitive warfare originating from abroad — a positive mobilising force for the DPP's campaign, and a source of pressure on the KMT.

• DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen opened his campaign headquarters, with President and party chairman Lai Ching-te and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim in attendance; former president Tsai Ing-wen also appeared to lend her support.
• Lai said Shen had substantially narrowed the gap in the polls within a few months and was running a positive campaign, declining to make an issue of the family background of his opponent, Chiang Wan-an.
• He stated bluntly that "cognitive warfare has already begun," and also classified as cognitive warfare the claims that he had nominated Shen merely to keep Chiang Wan-an in check, and that the campaign would start strong and then fade.
• With just over fifty days until the vote, the DPP's central theme is rallying its supporters so they are not scattered by the "adverse current."

Outlook: Over the next two months or so, the Taipei mayoral race is expected to keep heating up around cognitive warfare and accusations of smear tactics, with the key question being whether the gap in the polls narrows further.