The KMT is trying to ease outside doubts about a rupture in blue-white cooperation, a relatively positive signal for both parties' supporters, but the race in Hsinchu remains tense.

• KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen said that party Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun and Taiwan People's Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang have a solid relationship, and that the breakdown of cooperation in Zhubei is now in the past.
• He denied that the KMT has switched to treating Ko Wen-je as its negotiating counterpart, stressing that formal coordination is still conducted by Cheng Li-wun and Huang Kuo-chang.
• Chiayi City was cited as an example of successful cooperation: the KMT's local branch chief, while campaigning on stage for the TPP's candidate, suffered heatstroke, collapsed and broke an arm, yet wanted to return to his post the next day.
• Hsinchu County, even though it is a traditional stronghold for the blue camp, was described as a tight race, with the DPP's campaign capabilities leaving the KMT unwilling to let its guard down.
• Changhua presents another worry: the family of Speaker Hsieh Tien-lin is the target of a large-scale judicial investigation, which is affecting the integration of local factions.

Outlook: With two months to go before the vote, the blue and white camps are each expected to campaign separately in Zhubei, while the cooperation framework holds in other counties and cities; faction integration in Changhua is the next thing to watch.