Former Mayor Ko Wen-je faces jail for corruption

Ko Wen-je, as soon as a rising star in Taiwanese politics and presidential candidate, was indicted on Thursday for corruption.

The 65-year-old is accused of accepting half 1,000,000 {dollars} in bribes in an actual property deal throughout his tenure as Taipei mayor, in addition to making false statements about his marketing campaign funds throughout his presidential marketing campaign in January.

Prosecutors are in search of as much as 28.5 years in jail.

Ko’s indictment is an important blow to the political motion he represents, which has struck a chord with voters in search of an alternative choice to the ruling Democratic Individuals’s Get together and the primary opposition Kuomintang.

Ko, who has denied corruption allegations, was arrested in September and detained.

Prosecutors mentioned Thursday he was amongst 11 individuals going through fees. A number of different members of his Taiwan Individuals’s Get together had been additionally indicted for misappropriation of political donations.

A dark horse in the January presidential electionKo received greater than 25% of the vote – not far behind ruling get together candidate Lai Ching-te’s 40%.

Observers mentioned on the time that though Ko got here in final among the many three presidential candidates, his sturdy efficiency spoke to voters’ demand for a extra pluralistic political panorama past the 2 fundamental events.

Ko rose to prominence by presenting himself as a 3rd alternative past the 2 fundamental events. He criticized the DPP for stoking tensions with Beijing, which considers the self-governing island its territory, but in addition criticized the KMT for being too deferential.

After supporting protesters in the course of the anti-Beijing Sunflower Motion in 2014, Ko was elected mayor of Taipei as an unbiased candidate.

He received a second time period in 2018, however his insurance policies appeared to vary and he expanded Taipei’s relations with mainland China.

Long known as a wild card in Taiwanese politicsKo has sparked controversy along with his brash rhetoric and out-of-the-box marketing campaign concepts. He has been described as a “gaffe machine” and starred in a rap video throughout his 2018 re-election bid.

After his defeat within the presidential election, he pledged to not abandon his political profession and is predicted to run for president once more in 2028. However it stays to be seen whether or not his get together can get better from the wave of lawsuits.

Ko’s arrest sparked protests from his allies and supporters, who accused the DPP of utilizing the costs to suppress its opponents.