A Taipei mayoral candidate signed over a rival mayor's name on a student's graduation certificate, and the backlash shows how ugly Taiwan's local elections are getting.

• DPP Taipei candidate Shen Po-yang signed "your mayor" on a high school student's certificate after she crossed out Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao's name.
• Critics on the pro-green side called it absurd, saying it erases the DPP's own Hsinchu candidate, Chuang Ching-cheng.
• The move risks angering Ko Wen-je's supporters in Hsinchu and hurting the DPP's chances there.
• A similar stunt earlier — covering Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an's signature at a noodle shop — got the shop swarmed with bad reviews.
• The main worry now is that the teenage student gets targeted online.

Outlook: With Taiwan's year-end local elections approaching and voter interest low, blue-green hostility looks set to keep rising.