United Daily News reported on the 4th that 81 candidates have entered county and city mayoral races, formally opening what is known as the 'battle of the local lords'. Local executive elections have long been read in Taiwan as a gauge of national political direction.

Attention centres on the six special municipalities. Local media assess that the Kuomintang aims to hold four of its current seats, while the DPP places weight on retaking New Taipei and holding Kaohsiung.

The contest mirrors conflict in national politics. The governing and opposition camps have clashed over budgets and the distribution of local finances, and each is trying to carry that frame into the local races.

Yet actual voting in local elections has often turned on everyday concerns rather than national issues. Transport, housing and the recovery of commercial districts have repeatedly shifted races in the final stretch.

The elections matter to Taiwanese abroad and to the ethnic Chinese community in Korea. Local governments are the practical channel for overseas exchange and education and culture programmes, and a change of mayor often reorders sister-city project priorities.