Negotiations on KMT-TPP cooperation in Zhubei City, Hsinchu County, have broken down, with the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party trading accusations — bad news for either party's efforts to coordinate ahead of the 2026 local elections.

• TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang said he had already reached an agreement on "cooperation for the greater good" with KMT legislators Hsu Hsin-ying and Lin Ssu-ming at the Legislative Yuan, but now feels he has been taken for a fool.
• The original calculation was that the TPP would stand aside and let the KMT contest the Hsinchu County magistrate race, in exchange for the KMT conceding the Zhubei City mayoral race.
• The deal fell apart because the KMT went ahead with its Zhubei mayoral primary as usual; Huang said Hsu Hsin-ying had once promised she could persuade the winner, Wu Hsu-chih, to withdraw, but later changed her account.
• Hsu Hsin-ying's office responded only with the phrase "do good and accumulate virtue, walk the straight path," saying her position has been consistent throughout, without directly addressing the claim about persuading anyone to withdraw.
• Lin Ssu-ming confirmed that the two sides had indeed discussed KMT-TPP cooperation, and said mutual concessions were reasonable and acceptable.

Outlook: There is no sign of room for coordination in the Zhubei mayoral race in the near term. The KMT and TPP are likely to each field a candidate and face off directly, letting their opponent reap the benefit.