Blue-white alliance collapses in Zhubei as Huang Kuo-chang accuses Hsu Hsin-ying of lying
Taiwan's opposition cooperation talks between the KMT and the TPP have broken down over the Zhubei mayoral race, a setback for both parties heading into the November local elections.
- The Taiwan People's Party and the Kuomintang failed to agree on backing a single candidate for Zhubei mayor.
- KMT Hsinchu County candidate Hsu Hsin-ying said she never got a firm promise of TPP support in the primary, and denied her party ever offered to stand aside in Zhubei.
- TPP chairman Huang Kuo-chang hit back hard, saying breaking your word is bad enough and lying about it in public only makes you look worse.
- TPP Zhubei candidate Chiu Chen-yuan framed the fight as one about basic honesty in politics.
- The clash landed on the same day the TPP opened a campaign office in Taipei's Shilin-Beitou district, where the party is pushing to win all six of its city council seats.
Outlook: With the vote set for November 28, the two opposition parties look set to run against each other in Zhubei rather than unite, splitting their vote.