Former child actress Liu Chih-yu is running for Taipei city council as an independent, a low-key career move made public after eight years of quiet work behind the scenes.

• Liu, known for playing "Pema" in the Taiwanese film *The New Chinese Zodiac*, has registered as an independent candidate in Taipei's first district covering Shilin and Beitou.
• She spent eight years as service office director for sitting city councilor Hou Han-ting, using an assumed name so people would not link her to her famous family.
• Her father is actor Liu Shang-chien and her brother is prime-time drama actor Liu Chih-han, who publicly backed her run while admitting he worries she will get hurt.
• After years writing proposals, questions and draft bills and helping low-income residents, she went back to school and qualified as a social worker.
• Even neighborhood chiefs she had worked with for years were caught off guard, asking why she had not told them sooner.

Outlook: She now faces a crowded Shilin-Beitou race without a party machine behind her, running on local service experience rather than family name.