Former leader of one of Taiwan’s main opposition parties arrested over property scandal

Aug. 31 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The former leader of Taiwan’s second-largest opposition party, Ko Wen Je, has been arrested after testifying for nearly 19 hours straight in connection with a property development scandal that occurred while he was mayor of Taipei.

Ko, a former leader of the Taiwan People’s Party (TTP), was detained late on Friday night due to concerns about possible influence peddling after he refused to pursue questioning, the Central News Agency reported, citing the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.

Under Taiwanese law, prosecutors must ask a court to detain a suspect or witness within 24 hours of questioning. Ko has requested a judicial review of the arrest decision, Channel News Asia reports.

Ko, a former trauma surgeon, ran for the third party, which went on to score an impressive result in the territory’s last presidential election, garnering nearly 27 percent of the vote in January. He finished behind the winner and current president, Lai Ching Te, and the Kuomintang candidate, Hou Yu Ih.

Taiwanese media had expected Ko to run for president again in the next election in 2028, but opinion polls have shown the scandals have undermined popular support for his party, which he founded in 2019 in an attempt to create a third force in Taiwanese politics.

The TPP has just eight deputies in Taiwan’s 113-seat parliament, but its role is highly significant because neither the ruling Democratic Progressive Party nor the largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), has a majority.

The incident involving Ko is the latest in a series of investigations into Taiwanese politicians for corruption or misconduct since President Lai took office in May this year. In July, former Vice Premier Cheng Wen tsan of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party was detained on corruption charges.

Ko announced on Thursday that he would temporarily step down as party chairman amid a series of scandals involving party spending, including the use of election subsidies and political donations. The TPP, in a statement issued on Saturday, urged the court to consider the justification for the arrest, Bloomberg reports.