KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun has played down the controversy over Changhua County Magistrate Wang Hui-mei's repeated absences from party campaign events, a move to stem the bleeding for a KMT fighting hard ahead of the year-end elections.

• The KMT held a mobile Central Standing Committee meeting in Changhua to rally support for its candidate for county magistrate, Wei Ping-cheng. Wang Hui-mei again failed to appear — her fourth absence.
• Cheng Li-wun said there is no bad blood between the two, and that whether or not they appear together is unimportant; what matters is that everyone stands with the candidate.
• She spoke up for Wang Hui-mei, saying that Wang was still lobbying Lai Ching-te and Cho Jung-tai for Changhua's budget before leaving office, proof that she is not acting out of self-interest.
• Cheng Li-wun said she has been in close communication with Wang Hui-mei over the past six months, at one point speaking by phone every day, but was unable to find a candidate to Wang's liking.
• She called on the party not to waver on its own or generate a chorus of dissenting noise, which would only play into the DPP's hands.

Outlook: With 100 days left until the vote, the race in Changhua will be a barometer of whether the pan-blue camp is united, and whether Wei Ping-cheng can bring Wang Hui-mei's network on board remains to be seen.