TPP Chairman Ko Arrested on Allegedly Taking Bribes
Comprehensive Report by Taiwan Weekly
During his term as Taipei mayor, Chairman Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) was involved in the Living Mall project controversy. On August 31, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office filed a complaint with the court, requesting to detain Mr. Ko, on suspicion of Mr. Ko violating his duties by accepting bribes, intending to profit, and manipulating evidence. The detention of the chairman of the third largest political party has severely affected the current political structure of the DPP’s opposition, which supposedly cooperates to check and balance the DPP. The TPP has framed this as a “political hunt,” seeking to unify its supporters and prevent them from disintegrating.
The Living Mall case originated from the fact that the floor area ratio increased from 560 percent to 840 percent during Mr. Ko’s term as Taipei mayor. This was suspected to be an attempt to allow the Wei Jing Group the chance to obtain tens of billions of dollars in profit. In May the prosecutors conducted separate investigations, and wrapped up the investigation after three months. After detaining Wei Jing Group Chairman Shen Ching-ching and Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei on August 29, in the early morning of the 30th, the prosecutors sent seven teams to search Mr. Ko’s residence, office, and the central party headquarters of the TPP, obtaining computers and related account information. Mr. Ko was summoned as a defendant for profiteering.
According to the Anti-Corruption Act, the crime of accepting bribes in violation of official duties is punishable by life imprisonment, and the crime of profiteering is also a serious felony with a sentence of over five years. When Mr. Ko was interrogated on August 30, he was originally charged as a defendant for profiteering. On August 31, the prosecutor changed the charge to accepting bribes in violation of his duties as well as profiteering. This suggests the presence of new evidence, and Mr. Ko is facing his biggest crisis since entering politics.
Peng Chen-sheng, former deputy mayor, was also detained on the same charges, setting a new precedent for the outgoing Taipei mayor and deputy mayor being detained together.
The TPP framed this matter as a “political manhunt.” Before interrogation on the August 30, the final time Mr. Ko faced the camera, he said that this was the first time in Taiwan’s history that the home, office, and central party headquarters of a major opposition party’s chairman were being searched; that he has nothing to hide and done nothing wrong; and that he hopes Taiwan’s judiciary can be trusted, and that the ruling authorities would clearly explain what evidence they have before launching a search.
Concerning Mr. Ko’s arrest, President Lai Ching-te said in an interview on September 1 that he respects the judiciary and will not express views on individual cases, however, “as long as there is evidence, we will investigate in accordance with the law.” Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien emphasized his belief that the prosecutors would handle the case appropriately according to the law.
The prosecution also issued a statement that it abides by the non-disclosure regulations on investigations; that the search process complied with due legal procedures; and that the search ticket was approved by the court and never exceeded the necessary scope of the investigation.
On the other hand, as the Legislative Yuan is convening in September, whether the cooperation between the KMT and People’s Party will break down has attracted much attention. Legislator Huang Kuo-chang, whip of the TPP, affirmed the importance of fulfilling campaign promises and maintaining steadfast attitudes.
KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei said that the KMT will still seek cooperation with the People’s Party during the new session. However, some KMT legislators have privately expressed concern that the DPP will break up the cooperation of opposition forces through the judiciary. With the case of Mr. Ko’s search and prosecution, the People Party’s image has been severely damaged.
TVBS released a poll on August 27, asking “If you were to vote for president again, who would you vote for?” Among those who expressed opinions, 49 percent said they would vote for Lai of the DPP, 33 percent said Hou Yu-ih of the KMT, and 18 percent Ko of the TPP. Compared with the actual vote share in the presidential election, the proportion supporting Lai increased by nine percentage points, Mr. Hou’s remained unchanged, and Mr. Ko’s dropped from 26 percent to 18 percent, which is equivalent to a decrease of about 1.18 million votes compared with the 3.69 million votes he received in the election this year.