The announcement of Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu Hsing's bid for the mayor of Greater Kaohsiung has caused a stir in the DPP. Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen called this development "extremely regrettable," but she also insisted that party discipline must be upheld, and Yang will face expulsion from the DPP once he is registered as a candidate.

Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing has withdrawn from the DPP to run for Greater Kaohsiung mayor as an independent candidate.

Earlier this week, he condemned the DPP for its "unfair" primary and the party's heavy-handed attempts at suppressing him.

On Monday, DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen expressed regret over Yang's decision, but denied that the party manipulated the primaries.

While calling for unity and guaranteeing a victory for the DPP, Tsai also presented opinion poll statistics to refute Yang's claims.

Although Yang has already announced his withdrawal from the DPP, Tsai said that the party is still considering whether his actions merit expulsion from the party.

Greater Kaohsiung is not the only municipality where the DPP is facing an uphill battle.

According to reports, Tainan City Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair will be announcing his candidacy for Greater Tainan in the next few days.

Tsai is busy extinguishing fires, but refuses to admit that the splits within the camp will hurt the party's chances of winning either election.