China has “no right” to criticize Taiwan’s democracy regarding the sentencing of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday.
It is an authoritarian regime, and therefore cannot lecture the nation, a vibrant democracy governed by the rule of law, where judicial authorities conduct independent trials, he said.
The Taipei District Court on Thursday found Ko guilty of accepting millions in bribes related to the Core Pacific City redevelopment project during his term as Taipei mayor from 2018 to 2022. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison and deprived of his civil rights for six-years for corruption.
Photo: CNA
Chiu made the comment after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement after the verdict, criticizing the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration.
Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) said the Lai administration was manipulating the judiciary to suppress political opponents in pursuit of self-interest.
Zhu also accused the DPP of carrying out “green terror,” which she said is stirring “growing public resentment and opposition” in Taiwan.
The statement warned that such “reckless and perverse” actions would inevitably be opposed and rejected by Taiwanese.
Chiu said Beijing should not attempt to use the case to further its “united front” efforts.
Separately yesterday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) was asked by reporters for comment on Ko’s statement regarding his sentencing.
“Lai Ching-te! I will absolutely not surrender, and I will not yield,” Ko had said, using Lai’s Chinese name and suggesting that his conviction was politically motivated.
“We are now in the democratic era, and no ruling government can give orders to the courts, nor it can direct the decision on any judicial case,” Cho said yesterday. “We have seen people accuse the government of doing these things. These figures and their political parties are not qualified to rule our country.”
“Political figures should respect the professional conduct and authority of the justice system, and its judicial independence,” he added.
Meanwhile, some critics condemned Ko for saying he was being politically persecuted, accusing him of manipulating public opinion and undermining public trust in the justice system.
To shift attention away from his corruption, embezzlement and profiteering activities as Taipei mayor, Ko deliberately focused on blaming everything on the ruling party and the president, calling the case “political persecution” and saying the judiciary was being manipulated, academic Lee Chung-hsien (李忠憲) said.
Taiwan North Society in a statement said that during the investigation and trial proceedings, Ko repeatedly took up “bombastic language,” accusing the ruling government of directing prosecutors and court judges, to shift the focus away from his crimes.
“We urge Ko to face the justice system, to give his response through honest and factual information, and to deal with the court ruling and the consequences of his actions in rational ways,” the statement said.
“Throughout the trials and after the ruling, Ko deliberately shifted the blame and blurred the facts, and even branded the judicial procedures as ‘political persecution’ to erode society’s faith in the fairness and impartiality of Taiwan’s justice system,” it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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