A public slap at a Taiwanese campaign event has turned into a flashpoint over political violence, embarrassing for the KMT and for the man who delivered it.

• Fan Chen-tsung, a former Hsinchu county chief once tied to the DPP, struck KMT chair Cheng Li-wun in the face while both were backing candidate Hsu Hsin-ying.
• Cheng laughed it off rather than confronting him.
• Fan had just blasted her over failed party unity and the blue-white alliance, telling her she would be the one to blame for a loss.
• Footage spread fast on Threads, where even her critics said no one should be hit in public, joke or not.

Outlook: Expect the incident to keep circulating as a fight over campaign conduct rather than policy, with pressure on Fan to apologize.