Taiwan prosecutors indicted former presidential candidate and Taiwan People’s Party founder Ko Wen-je on corruption charges on Thursday.
Ko was accused of taking bribes during his time as mayor of the island’s capital.
The former mayor of Taipei was accused of embezzling political donations and accepting bribes related to a real estate development during his time in office, according to the prosecutors’ statement.
He faces a possible 28 and a half years in jail if convicted on all charges.
The major part of the case is a development owned by Core Pacific City group in Taipei.
Prosecutors said Ko allowed the company to evade city building regulations in exchange for bribes.
“The defendant, Ko, violated his vow as a mayor to not accept bribes, and abide by our national laws. Instead, Ko intended to help the group obtain billions of dollars in illegal benefits, while collecting millions in bribes,” said the lead prosecutor, Kao Yi-shu while unveiling the charges Thursday.
While Ko could not be reached, he has previously denied the allegations of bribery and corruption. His party said the charges were a case of political persecution.
“With this kind of abuse of power, the government is being reduced to a political thug,” said Lin Fu-nan, a member of the TPP’s central committee. “We call on the black hand of politics not to reach into the judiciary.”
Ko, a former doctor, burst onto the political scene to win Taipei’s 2014 mayoral race and served two terms from 2014 to 2022.
He founded the TPP in 2019 as an alternative to the two-party system, promising a break from politics as usual.
He ran for President this year. Despite finishing third, he attracted attention for his appeal to young voters.
Taiwan’s politics is mostly dominated by two main political parties, the Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang) and the Democratic Progressive Party.
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