The Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party have diverged over cooperation in the year-end local elections, and the failure to reach a deal in Zhubei has already damaged the KMT's electoral prospects in Hsinchu County.

• The two parties have jointly backed candidates in places such as Yilan County and Chiayi City, but talks collapsed in Zhubei, turning the race there into a three-way contest.
• KMT Vice Chairman Lee Chien-lung said there would be "good news" soon, but what is actually under discussion may be no more than persuading Hsinchu County Deputy Magistrate Chen Chien-hsien not to leave the party and run.
• TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang singled out Hsu Hsin-ying for a collapse in her polling numbers; TPP supporters are unhappy, and her momentum in Zhubei has indeed taken a hit.
• The race in Changhua is also stalled. Incumbent Magistrate Wang Huei-mei was absent from the opening of candidate Wei Ping-cheng's campaign headquarters, which was read as a sign of poor internal coordination within the KMT.
• Chiu Chen-yuan, the TPP's candidate in Zhubei, said the matter was "in the past," that the battle lines were set and each side would now work on its own.

Outlook: The Blue and White leaderships may soon present the results of their coordination, but the three-way race in Zhubei is unlikely to be resolved in the short term, and internal coordination in Hsinchu and Changhua is the real test.