Negotiations between Taiwan's Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party to field a joint candidate in the Zhubei mayoral election have broken down — bad news for the TPP ahead of the year-end local elections.

• Talks on KMT-TPP cooperation in Zhubei have collapsed. TPP candidate Chiu Chen-yuan has confirmed the breakdown, and Huang Kuo-chang will hold a press conference to explain.
• Former legislator Lee Chen-hsiu, who was expelled from the party, made a surprise announcement that she is running for Zhubei mayor, saying bluntly that the KMT simply does not take Huang Kuo-chang seriously, which is why the talks fell apart.
• Lee Chen-hsiu directed her criticism at Huang Kuo-chang, saying the heavy loss of party members and the slide in polling numbers stem from his lack of strategic vision and his excessive focus on his own interests.
• She argued that if the party performs poorly at the year-end elections, Huang Kuo-chang should step down and take responsibility, and she called for "Ko up, Huang down" — with Ko Wen-je returning to the party leadership if he is acquitted on appeal.
• Lee Chen-hsiu said that both she and Chiu Chen-yuan are "Ko Wen-je's people," that she is targeting voters unaffiliated with any faction, and that she will not split the TPP's vote.

Outlook: Huang Kuo-chang's press conference will determine whether any room remains for a blue-white accommodation, and a split in Zhubei would put still greater pressure on the TPP's year-end prospects.