Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party over the candidate for mayor of Zhubei City in Hsinchu County has formally broken down — bad news for both parties, but potentially a windfall for the Democratic Progressive Party in the local elections.

• Former legislator Lin Wei-chou had said the two parties reached a deal: the TPP's Chiu Chen-yuan would run for Zhubei mayor and the KMT's Hsu Hsin-ying for Hsinchu County magistrate. But once word got out, both the blue and white camps denied any such consensus existed.
• TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang said he telephoned KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun directly to check; Cheng then confirmed with Hsu Hsin-ying, who denied it. Huang in turn criticised those who "do not keep their word."
• Ko Wen-je was blunter: the KMT's explanation is strange, and if nothing they say can be trusted, how can there be any talk of cooperation.
• The two parties' Zhubei candidates, Wu Hsu-chih and Chiu Chen-yuan, have both collected their registration papers and will each register on 3 September, setting up a head-to-head contest.
• Registration opened 90 days before the election, with the DPP's Puma Shen registering for the Taipei race accompanied by Tsai Ing-wen. The blue-white split gives their opponents a better opening.

Outlook: The blue and white camps will most likely go their separate ways in Zhubei, and cooperation talks in other counties and cities will be harder to conclude from here on.