As registration for Taiwan's local elections enters a critical phase, the DPP has mobilised former president Tsai Ing-wen to appear on the campaign trail — a positive signal for morale in the pan-green camp, though the races in Taipei and New Taipei remain tight.

• Tsai squeezed two events into a single day, first joining Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen at his registration rally, then travelling to Keelung to accompany Tung Tzu-wei at his registration.
• She formally took up the post of chair of Tung Tzu-wei's Keelung campaign headquarters, with a platform centred on continuing the harbour district redevelopment begun under Lin Yu-chang, extending it from the east bank to the west bank.
• The chair of Puma Shen's campaign headquarters has still not been announced; asked about it, Tsai declined to answer and instead turned the question back on Shen himself.
• New Taipei has become the biggest battleground, with the latest polls showing Su Chiao-hui leading Lee Si-chuan for the first time by an extremely narrow margin, still within the margin of error.
• The Legislative Yuan's cuts and freezes to the Presidential Office's state affairs fund have triggered exchanges of criticism between the governing and opposition parties, with KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi bowing in apology over the matter.

Outlook: Registration closes on 4 September, formally opening the campaign, and the Su-Lee contest in New Taipei and the personnel arrangements in Taipei will be the key things to watch over the next three months.