Taiwan's 2026 local elections have formally entered the registration stage, with the Blue, Green and White camps all holding rallies on the same day amid a heated campaign atmosphere.

• Yu Chih-pin, the New Party's candidate for the Da'an-Wenshan district, arrived to register carrying a golden egg symbolising "dictatorship" and smashed it on the spot with a hammer, protesting against being handcuffed and released on NT$100,000 bail over an earlier egg-throwing protest.
• He sharply criticised what he called the Democratic Progressive Party's double standards in the judiciary, announced a signature drive for a "corporal punishment referendum" at major markets across Taipei, and said he wanted the New Party to form a caucus in the city council to check the Green camp.
• On the DPP side, former President Tsai Ing-wen accompanied Puma Shen and 26 city council candidates as they registered together, with the group wearing matching beige suits for the occasion. The party has yet to decide who will chair its campaign headquarters.
• New Taipei City has become the biggest battleground. A poll released by the Kuomintang caucus showed Lee Shih-chuan leading with nearly 40 percent, six percentage points ahead of Su Chiao-hui, who said she respects the polling results.
• Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an's eldest son has taken leave from school to study in the United States as an exchange student, prompting questions about privilege and draft evasion. Chiang stressed that his son was selected on his own merits and would definitely return to Taiwan after a year.

Outlook: Once registration closes, the campaign will move into full swing, with the contest between Lee Shih-chuan and Su Chiao-hui in New Taipei, along with how effectively the Blue and White camps coordinate in Zhubei, as the key things to watch.