A public confrontation between veteran politician Fan Chen-tsung and KMT chair Cheng Li-wun has exposed how badly the KMT–TPP electoral pact has broken down in Hsinchu County — bad news for both opposition parties heading into the local elections.

• Fan Chen-tsung berated Cheng Li-wun on stage at a campaign event for KMT Hsinchu County candidate Hsu Hsin-ying, calling her the person to blame if the party loses, then swung at her; she dodged.
• The blow-up came the same day the blue-white alliance formally fell apart, with both KMT and TPP candidates registering for the Zhubei mayoral race.
• Fan, a former two-term Hsinchu County chief once with the DPP, also rejected Cheng's description of him as an "opposition elder," noting the KMT and TPP already run Hsinchu.
• Critics say Cheng and TPP leader Huang Kuo-chang cut a backroom deal using Hsinchu County and Zhubei as bargaining chips, treating local voters as an afterthought.

Outlook: With rival blue and white candidates now locked in, the opposition vote in Hsinchu looks set to split, and pressure on Cheng Li-wun's leadership will grow.