Taiwan's opposition KMT is projecting total confidence about winning back the presidency in 2028, but its would-be partner, the TPP, is cooling that talk and pushing to get this year's local elections right first — a mixed signal for the opposition alliance.

• KMT chair Cheng Li-wun told business leaders she is "100% certain" the KMT will return to power in 2028 and is "cautiously optimistic" about the 2026 local races, with several cities close to even.
• Cheng's answer to the Executive Yuan refusing eight times to countersign laws passed by the opposition-controlled legislature is simply to win in 2026 and again in 2028.
• TPP chair Huang Kuo-chang said confidence is fine, but the TPP's focus is getting its council candidates elected this year and honoring the existing KMT-TPP pact on mayoral races before talking about 2028.
• Cheng admitted the KMT still faces challenges in two or three counties, and that low turnout among young voters could hurt the party this year.
• Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office again attacked DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen, who says he now wears a bulletproof vest when traveling abroad; Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council called it a threat to all Taiwanese.

Outlook: The KMT-TPP alliance will be tested in the November local elections, and how well they cooperate there will shape whether a joint 2028 challenge to the DPP is realistic.