List of political parties in Taiwan

Parties with national or local representation

• Local governments includes the executive and legislature branches of the 6 special municipalities, 3 cities and 13 counties. There are totally 22 mayors/magistrates and 905 local legislator seats in Taiwan.

Full list of registered political parties

Here is a full list of registered political parties according to the Ministry of the Interior, by order of registration. Dates indicate date of founding.

Taiwan under Japanese rule

Political party movements in Taiwan started in the late 1910s after World War I, during the Taishō period (Taishō Democracy). Taiwanese political movements at this time were to modify the discriminatory colonial laws established in earlier years, and to setup local autonomy systems like in Mainland Japan. The largest political movement at this time was the Petition Movement for the Establishment of a Taiwanese Parliament. At the same time, the International Communist Movement also influenced Taiwan, many Left-wing parties and organizations were also established.

Notable Taiwanese parties during this time are:

• Taiwan Dōkakai (臺灣同化會, Taiwanese: Tâi-oân Tông-hòa-hōe, Japanese: Taiwan Dōkakai)
• New People Society (新民會, Taiwanese: Sin-bîn-hōe, Japanese: Shinminkai)
• Taiwanese Cultural Association (臺灣文化協會, Taiwanese: Tâi-oân Bûn-hòa Hia̍p-hōe, Japanese: Taiwan Bunka Kyōkai)
• Taiwanese Federation of Workers' Unions (臺灣工友總聯盟, Taiwanese: Tâi-oân Kang-iú Chóng Liân-bêng, Japanese: Taiwan Kōyū Sōrenmei)
• Taiwanese Peasants Union (臺灣農民組合, Taiwanese: Tâi-oân Lông-bîn Cho͘-ha̍p, Japanese: Taiwan Nōmin Kumiai)
• Taiwanese Communist Party (臺灣共產黨, Taiwanese: Tâi-oân Kiōng-sán Tóng, Japanese: Taiwan Kyōsan-tō)
• Taiwanese People's Party (臺灣民眾黨, Taiwanese: Tâi-oân Bîn-chiòng Tóng, Japanese: Taiwan Minshu-tō)
• Taiwan Local Autonomy Union (臺灣地方自治聯盟, Taiwanese: Tâi-oân Tē-hng Chū-tī Liân-bêng, Japanese: Taiwan Tihō-jiti Renmei)

At the same time, the political parties in Mainland Japan also affected Taiwan. Most of the Governor-General of Taiwan were also members of the House of Peers of the Imperial Diet (帝国議会). Party affiliations of the Governor-Generals were:

• Rikken Seiyūkai (立憲政友会, Taiwanese: Li̍p-hiàn Chèng-iú-hōe)
• Kenseikai (憲政会, Taiwanese: Hiàn-chèng-hōe)
• Rikken Minseitō (立憲民政党, Taiwanese: Li̍p-hiàn Bîn-chèng Tóng)

However, in the late 1930s, the Empire of Japan joins the World War II. To prepare for the Pacific War, all political parties in Mainland Japan were forced to be merged into a single organization

• Imperial Rule Assistance Association (大政翼贊會, Japanese: Taisei Yokusankai, Taiwanese: Tāi-chèng-i̍k-chàn-hōe)

with its Taiwanese branch

• Kōmin Hōkōkai (皇民奉公會, Taiwanese: Hông-bîn Hōng-kong-hōe, Japanese: Kōmin Hōkōkai)

was the only legal political party-like organization in Taiwan until the end of World War II.

Taiwan after World War II

Taiwan was ceded back to the Republic of China, founded in 1912 on the mainland, on 25 October 1945 and was placed under martial law from 19 May 1949 to 15 July 1987. At this time, all forms of opposition were forbidden by the government, only three political parties who retreated to Taiwan were allowed to participate the elections.

• Kuomintang (中國國民黨, Chinese: Zhōngguó Guómíndǎng, Taiwanese: Tiong-kok Kok-bîn-tóng)^{[lower-alpha 1]}
• Chinese Youth Party (中國青年黨, Chinese: Zhōngguó Qīngniándǎng, Taiwanese: Tiong-kok Chheng-liân-tóng)
• China Democratic Socialist Party (中國民主社會黨, Chinese: Zhōngguó Mínzhǔ Shèhuìdǎng, Taiwanese: Tiong-kok Bîn-chú Siā-hoē-tóng)^{[lower-alpha 2]}

All other oppositions who were not allowed not form a political party could only be listed as "independent candidate". These movements were called Tangwai movement (黨外, literally outside of Kuomintang). A notable exception in this era was

• Democratic Progressive Party (民主進步黨, Taiwanese: Bîn-chú Chìn-pō͘ Tóng, Chinese: Mínzhǔ Jìnbù Dǎng).

It was established "illegally" in 28 September 1986, then was legalized in the next year by the lift of the martial law.

Democratization

As Taiwan democratized in the late 1980s, the number of legally registered political parties in Taiwan had increased exponentially and continued to increase year by year, indicating a liberal democracy and high political freedom in Taiwan.

In the recent decades, Taiwan's political campaigns can be classified to two ideological blocs

• The Pan-Green Coalition, led by Democratic Progressive Party, favors Taiwanization and the Taiwan independence movement, eventually aiming to establish a Taiwanese sovereign state.
• The Pan-Blue Coalition, led by Kuomintang, is in favor of building closer ties with China and the eventual Chinese unification under the Government of the Republic of China.

The majority in both coalitions state a desire to maintain the status quo for now. Many minor parties in Taiwan are unaligned with either coalition.