With 45 days to go before Taiwan's year-end local elections, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has publicly called on its members to lower expectations about their momentum, and has accused Chinese state media of launching a smear campaign against its Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang — a defensive posture in the race.

• President Lai Ching-te, who also serves as party chairman, set the tone at the Central Standing Committee: poll numbers and turnout at rallies do not equal votes.
• Secretary-General Hsu Kuo-yung instructed all party officials and elected representatives to be cautious and humble, and not to predict election wins or losses to the media.
• Internal party data show Shen Po-yang has the highest volume of online discussion, but the proportion of negative articles is rising, which is also squeezing exposure for candidates in other cities and counties.
• Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po alleged that Shen Po-yang's father "made red money"; the DPP says this is a smear and cognitive warfare by media controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
• Shen Po-yang is running a positive campaign centered on city governance, and party headquarters assesses that his opponents will step up distorted attacks.

Outlook: As election day draws nearer, the intensity and frequency of foreign disinformation and cognitive warfare are expected to keep rising.