The race for Hsinchu mayor has begun early, with the Kuomintang (KMT) imposing party discipline on former spokesperson Ho Chih-yung, who has registered as a candidate. For the KMT-TPP cooperation, the move steadies the ship; for Ho Chih-yung, it comes at a political cost.

• The disciplinary committee of the KMT's Hsinchu City branch voted in favour of recommending that Ho Chih-yung's party membership be revoked.
• The reason is that the KMT has already reached a cooperation agreement with the Taiwan People's Party to support incumbent Mayor Ann Kao's bid for re-election, yet Ho Chih-yung registered to run on his own as an independent.
• Revocation of membership is a lighter penalty than expulsion: membership can be restored after four years, whereas expulsion requires a six-year wait.
• The branch took the view that Ho Chih-yung had made contributions to the party in the past and that his case did not warrant expulsion.
• Ho Chih-yung said at the time of his registration that he would accept any penalty, and that he was not surprised by the outcome.

Outlook: The case has been referred to KMT headquarters, and the final decision still rests with the central disciplinary committee and the Central Standing Committee. Ho Chih-yung is expected to press ahead with his campaign.