After cooperation between Taiwan's Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party collapsed in the Zhubei mayoral race, senior figures from the two parties appeared together in Taichung in a high-profile show of unity — a small consolation amid bad news for an opposition camp hoping to unseat the Democratic Progressive Party.

• TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang attended an event in Taichung, entering hand in hand with Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen and KMT candidate Chiang Chi-chen, stressing that where the two parties can cooperate they should not let outside forces interfere.
• Lu Shiow-yen said unity and cooperation have never been an easy road, but "united we gain, divided we both lose," adding that circumstances differ from place to place and that those responsible for nominations deserve more encouragement.
• Talks over the Zhubei mayoral race have formally broken down, with each party fielding its own candidate. The TPP says the KMT has gone back on its word, while the KMT has called on the TPP to "show forbearance for the sake of the bigger picture."
• Ko Wen-je asked in return why it is always the TPP that has to show forbearance, and voiced concern that the rift could spread to Yilan and New Taipei; there are also reports the TPP may field its own candidate in Changhua.
• Analysts say an opposition camp that once had a chance to defeat the DPP in both Hsinchu County and Zhubei may now lose in both places — the equivalent of "playing a good hand badly."

Outlook: With less than three months to go before the nine-in-one elections and registration opening on Aug. 31, whether the blue-white camp can stop the bleeding will determine the 2026 race and could even shape 2028.