Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Ko Wen-je/Facebook
THE TPP CONTINUES to face controversy, with party leader Ko Wen-je’s release without bail now revoked. As such, Ko is again held incommunicado. Ko was sent directly to prison this time and is not being held at the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office. Ko is in a cell with three other inmates and authorities have emphasized that Ko will be treated as any other prisoner would.
This indicates how Ko’s second detention is of greater severity than the first. Ko was previously released without bail due to a lack of evidence against him, something that Ko supporters interpreted to mean that Ko was not guilty of the charges against him. Yet as his subsequent detention shows, this is not necessarily the case.
Ko currently faces charges in connection to the Core Pacific City Mall. Ko and others are accused of corruption for increasing the floor area ratio of the mall, in such a manner that developers would have made an extra 40 billion NT per year, and potentially taking bribes from the Core Pacific Group to allow for this. KMT city councilor Angela Ying has also been jailed, with charges that Ying acted as an intermediary between Ko and the Core Pacific Group, as well as former deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng, and Core Pacific Group chair Sheen Ching-jing.
For his part, Ko has denied having knowledge of the Core Pacific City Mall’s floor area ratio, as well as that it was increased in an illegal manner, a claim disputed by prosecutors. But Ko and the TPP have, in turn, criticized prosecutors for also questioning him about the TPP’s recent financial irregularities, with the TPP having reported no campaign expenditures in the 2024 election, stating that these are unrelated cases and that prosecutors are asking about both cases shows that their true interest is in politically targeting Ko. But prosecutors have also stated that they believe the two issues could potentially be linked.
Prosecutors filed for the revocation of Ko’s release without bail because of the possibility that he would collude with others to destroy evidence. This specifically cited deleted text messages on Ko’s phone, as well as funds of unknown origin in the bank accounts of Ko’s wife and son. The judge granted the revocation on the basis of the same evidence as before, in that the decision was not made by admitting any new evidence for consideration.
TPP caucus leader Huang Kuo-chang (center). Photo credit: Huang Kuo-chang/Facebook
The TPP has mobilized in support of Ko, with plans for a demonstration to affirm his innocence. The Taichung chapter of the party has stated that it is arranging buses for a demonstration, with reservations for ten buses already. It is expected that other party chapters will similarly mobilize.
It is now a question as to how the balance of power in the TPP will play out with Ko in jail. Ko could potentially be in jail for weeks or months.
Most announcements by the party since Ko’s arrest have come from party caucus leader Huang Kuo-chang. Although the party has to date demurred on appointing an acting chair, stating that it intends to maintain collective decision-making, other reports suggest that the party is moving toward naming Huang as acting chair. Even so, such reports suggest that there is also some contention in the party regarding the idea.
Nevertheless, the TPP has few power players as of late who have come out unscathed by controversy. Former Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao is currently serving jail time on corruption charges and has since left the party.
Legislator Huang Shan-shan’s position may currently be contested in the party, in that she had her rights as a party member suspended to take responsibility for the TPP’s fiscal woes, resulting in her removal from the party’s standing committee and as deputy caucus convenor, even if she will continue to serve as a legislator. Huang Shan-shan continues to enjoy a close relationship to Ko Wen-je, as evidenced in that she personally picked up his wife Peggy Chen after Chen was questioned by prosecutors, and that after Ko’s initial release, he first went to Huang’s home to rest before returning to his own home.
As such, it may not be surprising if Huang Kuo-chang increasingly comes to have a preeminent position in the TPP. But it was largely anticipated by many that Huang would eventually seek to take control of the TPP. Such predictions may increasingly be coming to pass.