A public attack on new KMT leader Cheng Li-wun has exposed strain in the opposition alliance, and the TPP is pointedly staying out of it — a neutral stance that still lands as pressure on the KMT.

• Former Hsinchu County chief Fan Chen-tsung, once a DPP member, backed KMT candidate Hsu Hsin-ying while blasting Cheng, saying she would be to blame if the blue-white alliance loses.
• Huang Kuo-chang, campaigning in Yilan, called the fight an internal KMT matter the TPP will not touch.
• He praised Fan as someone who has defended TPP founder Ko Wen-je in the past.
• His one demand: the TPP keeps its word when it teams up with others, and voters can judge whether the KMT does the same.

Outlook: The two opposition parties will keep cooperating on paper into the local elections, but trust between them looks thin and the KMT's internal split is now public.