Ko Wen-je, as soon as a rising star in Taiwanese politics and a presidential contender, was indicted Thursday on corruption costs.
The 65-year-old is accused of accepting half one million {dollars} in bribes involving an actual property dealing throughout his time period as mayor of Taipei, in addition to misreporting marketing campaign funds throughout his run for president in January.
Prosecutors are looking for as much as 28.5 years in jail.
Ko’s indictment offers a vital blow to the political motion he represents, which has struck a chord with voters in search of a substitute for the ruling Democratic People’s Party and primary opposition Kuomintang.
Ko, who denied the corruption allegations, was arrested in September and held in detention.
Prosecutors mentioned Thursday that he was amongst 11 individuals who had been being prosecuted. Several different members of his Taiwan People Party have additionally been charged for misappropriating political donations.
A darkish horse in January’s presidential election, Ko gained greater than 25% of the vote – not far behind ruling social gathering candidate Lai Ching-te’s 40%.
Observers mentioned on the time that despite the fact that Ko got here in final among the many three presidential hopefuls, his sizable displaying pointed to voters’ demand for a extra pluralistic political panorama past the 2 primary events.
Ko rose to prominence by branding himself as a 3rd alternative past the 2 primary events. He criticised the DPP for fanning tensions with Beijing, which sees the self-governed island as its territory, but additionally blamed the KMT for being too deferential.
After supporting protesters in the course of the anti-Beijing Sunflower Movement in 2014, Ko was elected Taipei mayor as an unbiased candidate.
He gained a second time period in 2018, however his politics appeared to shift and he expanded Taipei’s relationship with mainland China.
Long often called a wildcard in Taiwanese politics, Ko has courted controversy along with his brash rhetoric and quirky marketing campaign concepts. He has been described as a “gaffe machine” and starred in a rap video in his 2018 re-election bid.
After his defeat on the presidential polls, he vowed not to surrender on his political profession and was anticipated to hunt the presidency once more in 2028. But it stays to be seen if his social gathering can recuperate from the wave of prosecutions.
Ko’s arrest has triggered protests from his allies and supporters, who accused the DPP of utilizing the fees to suppress its opponents.
