Lawyer Tseng Chin-yuan (曾勁元) and a group of Taiwanese independence activists yesterday filed a judicial complaint against Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who they accused of illegal conduct and infringing on the personal liberty of Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co (TAPM) general manager Wu Yin-ning (吳音寧).
Ko exceeded his authority by ordering the Taipei Department of Government Ethics Office to examine TAPM’s accounting records last week, Tseng said.
It was an illegal move, because the city government holds just 20 percent of the company’s shares, and according to the Company Act (公司法), city officials are therefore not permitted to check its financial records, said Tseng, who is also a former public prosecutor.
Photo: CNA
“Ko is manipulating the public and interfering with Wu and TAPM. He is using this case to score political points and we want people to be aware of his arrogant and deceitful nature,” he said.
Ko’s actions infringed on Wu’s personal liberty and sowed seeds of doubt regarding her financial accountability and integrity, which is why he filed the judicial complaint at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, Tseng said.
Activists from the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign and other independence groups joined Tseng, holding up a banner accusing Ko of illegal conduct and political interference.
“Ko is working with city councilors from the pan-blue camp to bring Wu down,” 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) said.
By instructing the Ethics Office to check the records, Ko was trying to shift attention away from his poor performance as the city mayor during the past four years, Chen said.
Wu, who took office in June last year, has since March been attacked by several Taipei city councilors over a number of issues, including a drastic drop in vegetable prices and questions about her use of the company’s business promotion fund.
She was summoned by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning on Wednesday after it received official complaints against her.
Seven fruit and vegetable business associations on Thursday voiced their support for Wu.
She is proactive, hardworking and the best general manager that TAPM has ever had, they said.
“Ko is exploiting the situation to gain an advantage in his bid for re-election. It is typical of Ko, as he has been shown to be a manipulative, devious and malicious man,” Chen said.
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