Taiwan's opposition alliance between the KMT and the TPP has broken down in Zhubei, a bad sign for both parties heading into the local elections.

• TPP chairman Huang Kuo-chang publicly accused KMT Hsinchu County candidate Hsu Hsin-ying of lying about a deal.
• Hsu's camp says she never promised anything she had no authority to promise.
• Her position has been the same throughout: if the two party chairmen agree, she will go along with it.
• She says she sought TPP backing before the KMT primary but got no firm commitment, so no promise on Zhubei was possible either.
• After winning the primary she talked with Huang about the alliance, but framed it as a chat, not a deal.

Outlook: The two parties are now trading blame in public, making a joint ticket in Hsinchu County harder to put back together.