The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday said it would “mobilize the entire party” to defend party Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) innocence, one day after the Taipei District Court ordered his detention in connection with an anti-corruption probe.
Ko has been named a suspect in a Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office investigation into alleged kickbacks related to a project during his tenure as Taipei mayor to build an office complex on the site of a demolished mall in Songshan District (松山).
The TPP is united in support of Ko’s efforts to prove his innocence in court, said TPP caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), who also heads a task force dealing with the chairman’s arrest.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
TPP Secretary-General Chou Yu-hsiu (周榆修) is to lead the party’s day-to-day affairs in Ko’s stead, Huang told a news conference.
Starting tomorrow, the TPP is to mobilize the entire party to hold talks across the nation to protest Ko’s unfair treatment and politically motivated prosecution at the hands of President William Lai (賴清德), Huang said.
The party denounces the prosecution’s use of deliberate leaks, disinformation and manipulation of the media, he said.
“This matter concerns not only Ko’s innocence, but also the continued preservation of Taiwanese democracy, the rule of law, and a fair and just legal process,” Huang said, adding that the party would bolster its legal team ahead of Ko’s trial.
“The new green dictatorship has shackled Ko’s life-saving hands, but handcuffs will never break his spirit,” Huang said.
The TPP gives its deepest gratitude to its supporters for their commitment, with the understanding that the fight to come is “a marathon, not a sprint,” he said, adding that party has a “long and hard road ahead.”
The party is to hold the first of many protests tomorrow evening outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei and begin work strengthening its legal defense team, Huang said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) said the KMT hopes fellow opposition legislators would put their best foot forward in the upcoming legislative session.
“All forces in opposition should cooperate to serve the common good where their values align,” he said, adding that the two parties can cooperate in the deliberation of any bill, budget or confirmation hearings.
A KMT lawmaker said on condition of anonymity that the KMT is willing to collaborate with the TPP on nominating conveners for standing legislative committees, but would insist on its due.
“Conveners are important positions to the scheduling of bills and should not be yielded out of courtesy to a party with fewer votes,” the lawmaker said.
On Thursday, Ko called on his supporters to “keep pushing forward.”
In a pre-recorded video uploaded to his Facebook page, Ko apologized to his supporters for causing them “concern.”
“The best way to help me is to take good care of yourselves,” Ko said. “Live each day with purpose and happiness. Keep kindness in your heart and always do your best.”
“Let’s keep pushing forward,” he said to his supporters, clenching his right fist in the video, which the TPP said was recorded on Thursday morning and released later in the day after the court ruling.
In an interview with Nikkei Asia hours before he was detained again, Ko said the government was attempting to “suppress” opponents.
“What I find most disappointing is that Taiwan spent 30 years overthrowing the KMT party state only to have ... [most of] the judiciary and the media being the government’s political tools,” Ko told the paper.
Regarding a separate campaign finance scandal, he said that “we dare not say that we are absolutely not wrong,” but added that “media hype” had “magnified” mistakes, the paper reported.
Additional reporting by CNA
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS