As Taiwan’s local elections enter their final stretch, the crafting of candidates' images has become a focal point of the campaign. Experts point out that while these marketing strategies might appear to be mere "window dressing," they can, in fact, shape voter perceptions and, consequently, influence the election outcome.

One expert said the likelihood that a mayor announces closure of work and school because of a typhoon increases 31 percent during an election year.

Austin Horng-En Wang, a professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told BBC Chinese that in the early days after the lifting of martial law in Taiwan in the 1980s and 1990s, the DPP's supporters were mainly concentrated in "urban areas," including Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Hsinchu, rather than the southern region that is currently considered to be the dominant area.

Austin Horng-En Wang, a professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told BBC Chinese that in the early days after the lifting of martial law in Taiwan in the 1980s and 1990s, the DPP's supporters were mainly concentrated in "urban areas," including Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Hsinchu, rather than the southern region that is currently considered to be the dominant area.

Austin Horng-En Wang , an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who has long observed the domestic political situation, pointed out that unification and independence have always been very important core issues in Taiwan. People who care about unification and independence will turn to the side when it comes to voting in elections, but this has begun to change in recent years.

You follow an account for travel tips or parenting advice. Then one day, that same account starts telling you what to think about a war, an election, or a country. It doesn't look like propaganda — it sounds personal, familiar, and convincing. That's the new reality of AI-powered influence operations.

The AI race between the US and China is no longer just about faster chips or bigger models — it's a battle over entire technology ecosystems. And sitting at the center of it all is Taiwan, the island that builds the chips powering both sides, yet has little say in how AI's rules are written.

An undeleted line from an AI prompt was found in a post on a Chinese content farm. The prompt instructed writers to target a Taiwanese audience, rewrite the article in Traditional Chinese while preserving historical accuracy, and limit it to 500 words.