List of political parties in Taiwan

• National representation includes the President, the Vice President, and the 113 national legislator seats in the Legislative Yuan.
• Local representation includes the 22 mayors/magistrates executive positions and 912 local legislator (councils) seats of the 6 special municipalities, 3 cities and 13 counties.

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

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 Hokkien: Tâi-oân Tông-hòa-hōe, Japanese: Taiwan Dōkakai)
• New People Society (新民會, Taiwanese Hokkien: Sin-bîn-hōe, Japanese: Shinminkai)
• Taiwanese Cultural Association (臺灣文化協會, Taiwanese Hokkien: Tâi-oân Bûn-hòa Hia̍p-hōe, Japanese: Taiwan Bunka Kyōkai)
• Taiwanese Federation of Workers' Unions (臺灣工友總聯盟, Taiwanese Hokkien: Tâi-oân Kang-iú Chóng Liân-bêng, Japanese: Taiwan Kōyū Sōrenmei)
• Taiwanese Peasants Union (臺灣農民組合, Taiwanese Hokkien: Tâi-oân Lông-bîn Cho͘-ha̍p, Japanese: Taiwan Nōmin Kumiai)
• Taiwanese Communist Party (臺灣共產黨, Taiwanese Hokkien: Tâi-oân Kiōng-sán Tóng, Japanese: Taiwan Kyōsan-tō)
• Taiwanese People's Party (臺灣民眾黨, Taiwanese Hokkien: Tâi-oân Bîn-chiòng Tóng, Japanese: Taiwan Minshu-tō)
• Taiwan Local Autonomy Union (臺灣地方自治聯盟, Taiwanese Hokkien: 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. Those who served as 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 Hokkien: Li̍p-hiàn Chèng-iú-hōe)
• Kenseikai (憲政会, Taiwanese Hokkien: Hiàn-chèng-hōe)
• Rikken Minseitō (立憲民政党, Taiwanese Hokkien: Li̍p-hiàn Bîn-chèng Tóng)

In the late 1930s, the Empire of Japan joined the World War II. To prepare for the Pacific War, all political parties in Mainland Japan were merged into a single organization

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

with its Taiwanese branch

• Kōmin Hōkōkai (皇民奉公會, Taiwanese Hokkien: 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 was ceded back to the Republic of China, founded in 1912 on the mainland, on 25 October 1945. From 1945 until 1949, political parties in China which had operated covertly under Japanese rule were permitted to operate in Taiwan province. The ruling Kuomintang set up formal branches in Taiwan, and so did other major political parties including the Communist Party of China (in 1946). Although it had no formal connection with the Taiwanese Communist Party suppressed by Japanese authorities in the 1930s (which was instead affiliated with the Communist Party of Japan), the Taiwan branch of the Communist Party of China absorbed many former members of the Taiwanese Communist Party. However, against the backdrop of the Chinese Civil War which erupted soon after the retrocession of Taiwan, the Kuomintang-controlled Republic of China government attempted to restrict the operation of Communist Party of China cells in Taiwan, and other opposition parties.

With the Republic of China government rapidly losing the Chinese civil war against the Communist Party of China, the ruling Kuomintang began preparing to move the government to Taiwan in 1949. Taiwan was placed under martial law from 19 May 1949 to 15 July 1987. The Taiwan provincial branch of the Communist Party of China was particularly targeted, and by 1952 had been completely destroyed.

During 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 (Chinese: 中國國民黨; pinyin: Zhōngguó Guómíndǎng; Taiwanese Hokkien: Tiong-kok Kok-bîn-tóng)[note 2]
• Chinese Youth Party (中國青年黨; pinyin: Zhōngguó Qīngniándǎng; Taiwanese Hokkien: Tiong-kok Chheng-liân-tóng)
• China Democratic Socialist Party (中國民主社會黨 pinyin: Zhōngguó Mínzhǔ Shèhuìdǎng, Taiwanese Hokkien: Tiong-kok Bîn-chú Siā-hoē-tóng)[note 3]

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 Hokkien: Bîn-chú Chìn-pō͘ Tóng; pinyin: Mínzhǔ Jìnbù Dǎng).

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

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 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.

On December 6, 2017, the Political Parties Act (政黨法) was enforced. The Act requires the political parties to maintain a number of compliance, including

• File a declaration to the Ministry of the Interior, AND register as a legal person to a District Court,
• Convene representative assembly or party congress at least once in a four-year period,
• Nominate candidates in national or local elections at least once in a four-year period, and
• Compliance on funding source, accounting, and financial transparency.

By the end of 2018, among the 343 existing political party declarations: 220 have met the new compliance, 56 chose to dissolve or transformed to a national political association.