Taiwan's Blue and White parties have formally fallen out in Hsinchu County, bad news for an opposition camp that had hoped to join forces to defeat the DPP in the 2026 local elections.

• The Taiwan People's Party announced that elections at all levels in Hsinchu County will no longer be bound by the Blue-White cooperation agreement, and that it will throw its full weight behind its own candidate for Zhubei mayor, Chiu Chen-yuan.
• The TPP has laid down heavy penalties: party members who publicly back or appear on stage for the KMT's Hsinchu County magistrate candidate, Hsu Hsin-ying, could face expulsion from the party.
• The trigger was conflicting accounts of a promise to "yield Zhubei," with Huang Kuo-chang saying Hsu Hsin-ying had agreed to it and Hsu denying any such thing.
• Hsu Hsin-ying's camp responded in a low-key manner, saying the goal of Blue-White cooperation is unchanged and that it will redouble its efforts to bring about opposition unity.
• The Blue camp has troubles of its own elsewhere: Changhua County Magistrate Wang Hui-mei has been cool toward KMT candidate Wei Ping-cheng, sending only a flower basket inscribed "may all go smoothly."

Outlook: Mutual trust between the two parties has been broken, and Zhubei is now likely to see the Blue and White camps field separate candidates and split the vote, casting a shadow over their overall cooperation in 2026.