Taiwan's 2026 local elections are tightening, with a three-way Hualien race flipping second place and the blue-white opposition alliance collapsing in Zhubei — good news for the DPP, bad for KMT vote-consolidation hopes.

• In Hualien, You Shu-chen of the KMT holds her lead near 29%, but independent Chang Chun jumped to 19% and passed rival Wei Chia-hsien for second.
• Chang Chun's rise comes from green voters: more than half of DPP supporters back him since the party fielded no candidate of its own.
• In New Taipei, the DPP's Su Chiao-hui leads the KMT's Lee Si-chuan by about 6 points, and nearly half of voters say they want a change of party.
• The KMT and TPP formally broke off their Zhubei deal, with Huang Kuo-chang admitting the pact was never put in writing and saying his party will run alone.
• A KMT lawmaker's move to cut presidential office funds killed a bulk gift-box order from sheltered workshops, and the backlash spread to shops posting signs banning her.

Outlook: With the vote three months out, the fight now turns on whether non-KMT voters consolidate behind one candidate in Hualien and whether the broken blue-white alliance splits the opposition elsewhere.