Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) made the main decisions and gave final approval in the Core Pacific City redevelopment project, Taipei city councilors said in a report on Tuesday, while others were questioned yesterday over details of a corruption investigation linked to the property.
Taipei prosecutors are investigating allegations that Ko, during his time as Taipei mayor, and others profited from corruption linked to the mall project.
Prosecutors yesterday questioned — for the fourth time each — former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) and Core Pacific Group chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), who are both in pretrial detention, while on Tuesday they questioned for the third time former Taipei Urban Planning Commission head Lin Jou-min (林洲民).
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Prosecutors reportedly sought to verify Pong’s earlier testimony that Ko had intervened at commission meetings in 2020 and 2021, instructing city officials to increase the floor area ratio for the project.
Pong had told prosecutors that Ko told him to ensure the ratio was raised and approved the project.
Taipei city councilors and others have accused Ko of accepting bribes and kickbacks from Sheen after the project was approved.
Investigators are looking into accounts to determine whether the floor area ratio change enabled Core Pacific Group to boost the value of the property.
Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) of the Democratic Progressive Party said that the ratio change added more than NT$40 billion (US$1.26 billion) to its value.
Meanwhile, at Taipei City Hall, councilors on Tuesday presented a report that said meeting minutes mostly confirmed Pong’s testimony.
Headed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧), the team began work in May to compile the minutes from meetings related to the project and posted them online for public viewing.
The report quoted Pong as saying that Ko in 2020 ordered him to work on the redevelopment project, appointing him as project manager.
Separately, Japanese academic Yoshiyuki Ogasawara in Hsinchu yesterday said that Ko would fight to extend his political career, despite the corruption scandal, and that people should not count out the TPP.
Ogasawara is a guest lecturer at National Tsing Hua University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
“After the presidential election, support for the TPP has declined steadily and dwindled even more after the accusations emerged, but Ko still has his core support at about 10 percent and the party still has eight legislative seats, he said.
The lawmakers can maintain their volume in public discourse and would continue to operate, until perhaps next year, when there might be a big change for it, depending on how the cases against Ko go, he added.
Separately, Taipei prosecutors are expanding their investigation into allegations that Ko illegally benefited by taking control of TPP funds and might be involved in money laundering.
My-Formosa.com chairman Wu Tzu-chia (吳子嘉) said that prosecutors have found evidence at Ko’s residence of irregular money flows and missing party funds.
Wu said that Ko set up four entities to facilitate money transfers and used a USB drive for cryptocurrency transactions.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS