The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei.
The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail.
After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural meeting between the prosecution and defense scheduled for 9:30am.
After the meeting concluded at about 10am, the detention hearing began at 2pm.
Police said they had mobilized 400 personnel to maintain order around the district court on Boai Road in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正) and would remove protesters if they held signs or shouted slogans.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The court released its verdict ordering Ko’s detention at about 5:20pm.
Ko can appeal the ruling.
“It is regrettable that the court made such a decision, but we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence in accordance with the law,” TPP Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) wrote on Facebook shortly after the verdict.
A statement posted later by the TPP on Facebook said that Ko had been “unfairly treated” by the district court and asked why Monday’s decision had been reversed.
“The TPP will resolutely support Chairman Ko in defending his innocence,” the party said.
The TPP leader was seen at 5:50pm entering a vehicle in handcuffs before being driven to the Taipei Detention Center in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城).
In accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), Ko can be lawfully detained for up to four months while prosecutors continue their investigation.
Prosecutors allege that Ko was involved in dealings that contravened the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) during his second term as Taipei mayor from 2018 to 2022.
Core Pacific Group (威京集團) chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) allegedly gave Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) more than NT$47.4 million (US$1.48 million) as part of his company’s efforts to illegally lobby the Taipei City Government to increase the floor area ratio of Core Pacific City, a redevelopment project in Songshan District (松山), to boost the property’s value.
Prosecutors alleged that Ying was a go-between for Sheen and top city officials, including then-Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲).
They also suspect that Ko was involved in the alleged illegal activity.
Ko has denied this.
The district court yesterday ruled that Ko “clearly knew” that raising the floor area ratio of the Core Pacific City property was illegal, yet he “insisted” that it happen.
It said that Ko’s case formally meets the requirements for the crime of knowingly “seeking unlawful gains for oneself or for others” as stipulated in Article 6 of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
Due to the severity of the alleged crime and the scale of gains, it was necessary and in the public interest to detain Ko and hold him incommunicado, as the risk of him colluding with others or destroying evidence is sufficiently strong, it said.
Ko joins Ying, Sheen, Pong and Ying’s assistant Wu Shun-min (吳順民) who are being held incommunicado as suspects in the ongoing investigation.
According to the Anti-Corruption Act, taking bribes that undermine official duties can be punishable by a prison sentence of no less than 10 years, while “directly or indirectly seeking unlawful gains for oneself or others” can result in a prison sentence of no less than five years.
Ko and the TPP are also linked to a separate criminal investigation relating to campaign finance reporting discrepancies dating to the campaign for January’s presidential election.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do