Ko Wen-je Charged With Accepting Bribes, Mishandling Funds

TaiwanPlus News

Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of nearly 30 years for former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je on corruption charges. Ko's Taiwan People's Party is calling for his release from detention as investigations continue.

Transcript

00:00Twenty-eight years and six months, that's how long Taipei District Prosecutors are seeking

00:06for former Taipei City Mayor Ke Wen-je on charges of corruption.

00:11They say Ke accepted bribes over a construction project while in office, worth over 500,000

00:17U.S. dollars, and that he mishandled two million U.S. dollars in political donations during

00:22his unsuccessful bid for president earlier this year.

00:25Ke is a former medical doctor-turned-politician who founded the Taiwan People's Party in 2019.

00:46He found strong support among Taiwan's youth, who liked his straightforward manner, and

00:51among those who wanted to see a third force in Taiwan's politics, long dominated by the

00:56Democratic Progressive Party and Kuomintang.

00:59His party is standing with him, and they're calling for Ke to be released from detention

01:03while the investigation continues.

01:32Ke expressed an intention to stand down as party leader and asked for special permission

01:37while being held incommunicado to send in a resignation letter.

01:41Some speculate this was meant to distance the party from his corruption investigation.

01:45But the TPP says they have not received such a letter and is still calling Ke their leader.

01:51Many of Ke's supporters see the corruption charges as retaliation by the DPP to shut

01:56down the politician and his party, and the corruption charges are further fueling their

02:01stand against the establishment.

02:03Yixin Chen and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.

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