A war of words has broken out again among Taiwan's Blue, White and Green camps. Ko Wen-je attributed his falling-out with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, while veteran media commentator Huang Chih-hsien said he simply wanted power for himself — a negative round of image-based attack and defence for the Taiwan People's Party (TPP).

• Speaking in Changhua, Ko Wen-je said his break with the DPP began with the Keelung light rail project: Tsai Ing-wen announced an investment of NT$8.1 billion, but construction never got under way.
• He questioned what the NT$880 billion Forward-looking budget had actually built, and where the money had gone.
• He also recounted that a DPP city government official had once told him privately that the Kuomintang (KMT) is corrupt, but the DPP is even more ruthless about it.
• Huang Chih-hsien countered that Ko had wanted the DPP to stand aside for him again while refusing to join the party, and so formed his own party in order to be his own boss.
• The Keelung light rail was in fact cancelled in 2020 over right-of-way and ridership problems and upgraded to the Keelung MRT; preliminary works began late last year, with the line targeted to open in 2034.

Outlook: Mutual accusations of this kind are expected to intensify as the next election season approaches, and the results of the Forward-looking budget will continue to be dug up for scrutiny.