Cooperation between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) in Hsinchu has broken down completely ahead of Taiwan's year-end local elections — bad news for both parties, whose mutual recriminations have now reached the courts.

• Hsu Hsin-ying is insisting on running for Hsinchu County magistrate and Chiu Chen-yuan on running for mayor of Zhubei. TPP headquarters has invoked party discipline, warning that members who publicly campaign for another party's candidate will be expelled.
• Wu Tzu-chia, chairman of My-Formosa.com, produced LINE messages to argue that Hsu Hsin-ying never agreed to stand aside, and has in turn sued Ko Wen-je and Huang Kuo-chang for "intent to cause electoral defeat."
• TPP Secretary-General Chou Yu-hsiu shot back that the party had not lied, saying promises between politicians rest on mutual trust — should they be notarised at a law firm? — and criticising the reflex to file lawsuits as no help to Hsu Hsin-ying's campaign.
• The KMT's Hsinchu County branch has likewise barred members from campaigning for candidates not nominated by the KMT. The TPP says it is merely responding in kind, and the two parties are still in communication in other counties and cities.
• The TPP is concentrating its resources on the mayoral races in Zhubei, Chiayi City and Hualien City, pushing for council seats elsewhere, and does not rule out changing strategy if the situation in Hsinchu deteriorates further.

Outlook: With the litigation now in the judicial process, the Hsinchu standoff is unlikely to be repaired in the short term, and the TPP will decide its next move while watching what the KMT does.