Taiwan's small opposition party is facing a splinter candidate in a local mayoral race, and its leader is publicly waving it off as harmless.

• Lee Chen-hsiu, recently expelled from the Taiwan People's Party, has announced a run for mayor of Zhubei.
• TPP chairman Huang Kuo-chang says running for office is every citizen's basic right and declined to criticize her.
• He insists the move will not hurt Chiu Chen-yuan, the candidate the party drafted for the same seat.
• Reporters pressed him on whether more expelled or departed members might launch their own campaigns, and on how the wider blue-white opposition alliance is holding up in greater Hsinchu.

Outlook: The race will test whether TPP defectors can split the party's vote in one of its strongest local areas ahead of the 2026 local elections.