Allegations of cash-for-votes in Changhua County have resurfaced, a bad look for the Kuomintang and a reminder that Taiwan's local vote-buying problem has simply changed shape.

• An American reporter, Shih Tung-wen, says he personally saw a KMT faction in Changhua preparing large piles of cash to buy votes.
• Local Democratic Progressive Party figures say cash handouts on election eve are old news — the new method is year-round money.
• The updated playbook funds temples, community groups and local associations all year, so voters feel they owe the candidate by election day.
• Big-name candidates reportedly offer campaign money to those who fall in line, and bankroll rivals against those who refuse.
• A DPP county councillor is urging people to gather evidence and report it; a KMT councillor counters that old individual cases should not smear the whole party.

Outlook: Expect prosecutors and police to face growing pressure to investigate as the local election season heats up.