The race for mayor of Zhubei City in Hsinchu County has grown tense after the breakdown of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party, bad news for both parties' local partnerships.

• Ko Wen-je pointed to the spillover from the "blue-white split," saying bluntly that Changhua is already lost and Hsinchu County is beyond saving.
• Chiu Chen-yuan, the TPP's drafted candidate for Zhubei mayor, said he is following the instructions of the party's central leadership and doing his best to keep confrontation from spreading.
• Coordination between the two parties remains stuck at the leadership level, and Chiu has passed the ball back to the two party chairs, hoping communication can resolve the impasse.
• Goodwill persists behind the scenes: former KMT legislator Lin Wei-chou has publicly appeared at a campaign event for him, and Taoyuan Mayor Chang San-cheng has also shared a stage with him in a show of encouragement.

Outlook: Chiu plans to hold weekly policy press conferences to steer the campaign back toward policy platforms, but online polling in Zhubei and public pressure are unlikely to ease in the short term.