A rift has emerged in the blue-white cooperation between Taiwan's opposition parties, which is bad news for both the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) in the year-end local elections.

• Ko Wen-je said bluntly that the 2026 local elections look distinctly unfavourable for the KMT, that the situation in Changhua County is already beyond saving, and that Hsinchu is also in trouble.
• He worries that the signs of defeat will spread to Yilan County and New Taipei City, and he called on the two party chairs to sort things out as soon as possible.
• The mayoral race in Zhubei City, Hsinchu County, has become the breaking point: TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang said Cheng Li-wun had told him she could not handle the matter, and that the TPP will back Chiu Chen-yuan's candidacy all the way.
• Ko Wen-je stressed that he is only the campaign chief executive, responsible for supporting candidates across Taiwan, but that blue-white cooperation is a grand strategy and must be conducted with integrity and reliability.
• On Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen's wish to seek his advice, Ko Wen-je said Shen should contact him directly rather than going through the media.

Outlook: If the blue and white camps cannot reach agreement on their nomination conflicts, the two parties risk wearing each other down in several counties and cities, leaving the DPP to reap the benefits.