Former Taiwan People's Party legislator Lee Chen-hsiu has made a surprise announcement that she will run for mayor of Zhubei City in Hsinchu County — bad news for TPP chairman Huang Kuo-chang, as the move will split votes within the blue-white camp.

• Lee was expelled from the TPP in April this year over a dual nationality controversy, and consequently lost her seat in the Legislative Yuan.
• She has decided to run for Zhubei mayor as an independent, stressing that she had already expressed interest back in 2022 and that this is not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
• Observers see the move as aimed at Huang Kuo-chang, but she denies this, saying she "gave him no consideration at all."
• With the TPP's "blue-white cooperation" talks in Zhubei deadlocked, the party has already nominated Chiu Chen-yuan to run, and Lee's entry makes the situation messier still.
• She describes herself as a "Zhubei mother" who has been a registered resident for 13 years, and says local voters "pick the person, not the party," which is why she is confident about her chances.

Outlook: Whether her candidacy is legally valid remains disputed and will be a focal point of contention among the various parties in the near term, while also adding uncertainty to the TPP's electoral prospects in Zhubei.