Topic 1 - Fair and Free Elections 

With the transition to direct presidential elections, concerns have been raised regarding the integrity of Taiwan’s new electoral process. Before, national leadership was selected under the National Assembly without public influence. Due to this involvement, specific concerns have been raised regarding “black gold” politics; a term used to refer to the entanglement of political power with corruption, local factions, and organized crime. The KMT has previously faced allegations of accepting financial support, facilitating syndicate involvement, and enabling patronage networks to influence parliamentary decisions. Voters have expressed a strong disdain for the potential reemergence of black gold politics in this year's election. Specific concerns include vote buying, connection to organized crime, ballot stuffing, media manipulation, and illicit means of campaign financing.

Topic 2 - Status of Previous Governmental Structures

With the introduction of presidential elections, debate has risen over the future role of the National Assembly. While no longer responsible for selecting leadership, the Assembly still holds the power to amend the constitution, interpret it alongside the Judicial Yuan, and could technically still impeach those in office. Additionally, many assembly members still retain lifetime seats due to the lack of regular elections, often representing constituencies from mainland China before the establishment of the PRC in 1949. It has also been criticized for being susceptible to black gold politics and having a historical alignment with the KMT. As Taiwan moves toward a more localized political system, questions remain on whether the National Assembly should face reform, have its power reduced, or be dissolved entirely to better reflect the addition of democratic values and Taiwanese identity.