Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was escorted to Hsinchu by Agency of Corrections officers today to attend the funeral of his father, who passed away on Feb. 17 at age 94.
Ko was ordered detained and held incommunicado by the High Court in January following a series of bail appeals after being indicted on corruption and embezzlement charges. He faces a combined prison sentence of 28 years and six months.
Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), on Friday last week appealed to the Taipei Detention Center on Ko’s behalf to allow him to leave on compassionate grounds for today’s funeral.
Photo from the Taiwan People's Party Facebook
The private memorial service was held at the Hsinchu City Mortuary at 9am.
Ko did not wear handcuffs and his feet were not bound, although he had electronic monitors and was escorted by eight correctional officers.
Ko departed from Taipei at 7:10am and arrived in Hsinchu at 8:53am, Taipei Detention Center deputy director Chen Chi-sen (陳啟森) said.
According to Article 19 of the Detention Act (羈押法), guard instruments may be used if it is deemed a defendant may escape or commit self-harm or violent acts, including technical equipment such as electronic monitoring.
The funeral service was not open to the media, although chanting could be heard from inside.
In his five-minute eulogy, Ko said his father opposed him running for Taipei mayor, saying he did not want to lose his son, too, after already losing his own father in the 228 incident.
Ko said that he had caused his father to worry in the last 10 years of his life, and that decisions he had made caused his father to lose the companionship of his son.
“Once again, I disappointed my father. In his final moments, I wasn’t able to be by his side, to hold his hand, express my gratitude and say goodbye,” he said, describing it as “the regret of a lifetime.”
Finally, he asked his father not to worry about him; his legal troubles would pass and he would once again see the light of day.
After the family memorial service, Ko departed at 10:16am as his wife shouted: "Politics is influencing the courts; the courts are harming human rights."
Nearly 100 Taiwan People's Party (TPP) supporters, known as “Little Grass” supporters, gathered outside the mortuary shouting their encouragement and holding placards that read: “Thank you Ko Senior for giving us Ko Wen-je.”
The Presidential Office had offered to send a representative to today’s funeral to offer condolences, but was declined by the Ko family, TPP caucus secretary-general Vicky Chen (陳智菡) said.
Many politicians from the three main political parties attended the funeral to pay their respects, including former presidents Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Ko, 65, was the TPP presidential candidate in last year's election.
He was indicted on Dec. 26 last year on bribery and other corruption charges in connection with real-estate dealings during his second term as Taipei mayor, which began in 2018.
He was also charged with embezzling political donations made to the TPP during the presidential election campaign.
He resigned as TPP chairman in January.
Additional reporting by Hung Mei-hsiu
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