A rift inside Taiwan's opposition KMT is showing in public, as one of its most successful local leaders keeps her distance from the party's new chair — bad news for the KMT's bid to hold Changhua county.

• Changhua county chief Wang Hui-mei has now stayed away four times from campaign events for Wei Ping-cheng, the KMT's pick to replace her.
• She skipped even the party's top-level meeting when it was moved to her own county for the occasion.
• Locals in her hometown of Lukang say the reason is simple: she hates being told what to do, and pressure only hardens her.
• Wang has never lost an election in over 30 years in politics and runs her own campaigns, which gives her the standing to ignore the party line.
• Whether the coolness is aimed at Wei's family, at the chair, or both, her absence is now the story.

Outlook: Expect Wang to keep skipping the events, leaving the KMT's Changhua candidate to campaign without the county's strongest vote-getter behind him.