The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) said the case involving party founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was “political prosecution,” so there would be no expulsion or disciplinary action against Ko, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said yesterday.
The Taipei District Court on Thursday sentenced Ko to 17 years in prison for multiple corruption offenses in the Core Pacific City (京華城) case and three other cases.
Asked whether Ko would withdraw from the party — as former Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) did after receiving a prison sentence — or face disciplinary action, Huang said the party has made its position clear: Ko was being politically targeted and persecuted by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
A district court in July 2024 had sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison on corruption charges.
Her conviction was overturned by the High Court in December last year following an appeal.
“Therefore, there is, of course, no reason for expulsion from the party or internal disciplinary action,” Huang said, referring to Ko.
The party’s disciplinary measures are meant to address contraventions of internal integrity rules and are not intended for members ho are being politically persecuted or judicially targeted, he added.
The court in its ruling said Ko had accepted NT$2.1 million (US$65,872) in bribes in 2020 — when he was Taipei mayor — from several proxies of Core Pacific Group chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), in exchange for favorable treatment, including approving additional floor area for the Core Pacific City redevelopment project.
Ko described the case as “a frame-up from beginning to end.”
Huang said he had called on supporters to take to Ketagalan Boulevard yesterday afternoon to “demand justice, not only for Ko Wen-je, but for the fairness and justice that Taiwan’s judicial system should uphold.”
DPP caucus whip Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said the party respects judicial rulings, as well as the public’s constitutional right to assembly and demonstration.
He urged all sectors of society to view the matter rationally and called on the TPP to uphold the bottom line of democracy and the rule of law, warning that excessive political rhetoric would not help Ko’s case.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS