Cooperation talks between Taiwan's People's Party and the Kuomintang over the Zhubei mayoral election have broken down — bad news for the two parties' overall positioning in the nine-in-one local elections, and good news for the other parties.

• TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang said KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun had explicitly informed him that she was unable to resolve the question of the Zhubei mayoral candidacy, and that he deeply regretted this.
• The TPP will unite as a party behind its drafted candidate, Chiu Chen-yuan, to complete his registration and see the campaign through to the end.
• The breakdown stems from the original understanding: the TPP would back the KMT's Hsu Hsin-ying for Hsinchu County magistrate, while the Zhubei mayoral race would be ceded to the TPP — but the two sides never signed a written agreement.
• KMT Hsinchu County councillor Wu Hsu-chih was the first to pick up nomination papers for the Zhubei mayoral race, directly triggering the conflict.
• Huang Kuo-chang stressed that the TPP's cooperation with the KMT in other constituencies is unaffected, and that earlier commitments will not change.

Outlook: the Zhubei mayoral contest is expected to become a three-way race with the blue and white camps fighting each other, and the two parties' cooperation in other counties and cities will also face a test of trust.