Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party in local elections has shown cracks in Zhubei, Hsinchu County, and in Changhua — bad news for the two parties' plan to join forces against the Democratic Progressive Party.

• Talks on the nomination for Zhubei mayor are on the verge of collapse, and the TPP also plans to field its own candidate in the Changhua county magistrate race.
• Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen has voiced strong support for cooperation, stressing that "together we both gain; apart we both lose."
• Chiang Chi-chen said cooperation between parties takes time to bed in, that the keys are sincerity and mutual trust, and that the parties must return to "putting the people first."
• Conditions differ from place to place, making integration difficult; Lu Shiow-yen said she has sought advice from TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang.

Outlook: The two parties will continue negotiating, but the disputes over candidates in Zhubei and Changhua are unlikely to be resolved in the near term.