Taiwan's opposition alliance between the KMT and the TPP has collapsed in Hsinchu County, a setback for both parties heading into the year-end local elections.

• The TPP voted to pull Hsinchu County out of its 2026 joint-governance and election deal with the KMT.
• The trigger: the TPP says the KMT and its county magistrate candidate Hsu Hsin-ying broke promises, wrecking trust built over two years.
• A KMT letter telling members not to campaign for non-KMT candidates was the final straw.
• Both sides have now registered rival candidates for Zhubei mayor — the KMT's Wu Hsu-chih against the TPP's Chiu Chen-yuan.
• The KMT's local branch calls the letter routine party housekeeping and says it still respects the other opposition parties.

Outlook: The TPP will now pick its own partners race by race in Hsinchu County, and a split opposition vote there hands the ruling DPP an easier path.