A coalition of small Taiwanese parties wants voters to see candidates' criminal records before they vote — good news for transparency, uncomfortable for parties fielding tainted candidates.

• The Taiwan Forward Alliance is asking the Legislative Yuan to amend the election law this session so official election bulletins list each candidate's criminal record.
• Of the roughly 1,500 city and county council candidates, about 130 have been convicted or indicted — plus 9 of 81 mayoral candidates and over 100 village chief candidates.
• None of this shows up on the official bulletins voters actually receive, so most people had no way to find out.
• New Power Party chair Claire Wang says similar amendments were proposed in 2023 by three separate legislators and all were dropped.
• The alliance says it only wants disclosure, not to bar anyone from running — voters decide what the record is worth.

Outlook: The alliance is pressing the KMT, DPP and TPP caucuses to state their positions, and will keep publishing records for township officials and sitting legislators ahead of the local elections.