00:00Members of the Taiwan People's Party and crowds of supporters have come out here outside of the
00:05presidential office in Taipei to protest after the party's founder, Ko Wen-je, was sentenced to 17
00:13years in prison for corruption. Ko was found guilty by the Taipei District Court on Thursday
00:19of embezzling around 2 million U.S. dollars in political funds during his run for president in
00:242024, as well as taking half a million U.S. dollars in bribes when he served as the mayor of
00:30Taipei. The ruling also takes away Ko's civil rights for six years. But the TPP is condemning
00:37the verdict as a case of judicial persecution, saying the courts have become a political tool
00:43of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and saying the judicial system needs to be reformed.
01:09Supporters here also say they feel the ruling was unfair and motivated by politics.
01:15We wish more people to know that this trial is really unfair. We just wish the court, our
01:23justice should be just to be fair.
01:25We still think that the court should be in a public and fair position. We shouldn't
01:33be able to remove the power of the political force. We shouldn't be able to influence the
01:39political force. We shouldn't be able to influence the decision. We shouldn't be able to
01:41be able to accept our people.
01:42This is an unfair decision. I think that Ko Wen-je is very公平 andå…¬æ£.
01:51But Taiwan's DPP-led government has said it cannot manipulate court cases and believes
01:58in the independence of Taiwan's courts. And the party's lawmakers say they respect the
02:03court's decision. But it might not be final.
02:06Ko can still appeal this ruling, meaning this case, which has become highly divisive and deeply
02:12politicized in Taiwan, may not be over for some time.
02:16Bufili and Keats Quaranta in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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