DPP councilor criticizes TPP chairman over purchase of new office

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) A Taipei City Councilor on Tuesday called on Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to make a public apology after Ko admitted to using his presidential election subsidy to purchase an office unit.

In a press release, Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused Ko of not being frank about the money without offering any evidence to back up her claim and said he should disclose where it all went, beside the real estate purchase.

Lin slammed the TPP for vowing in January that it would use the election subsidy to cover party operations, make donations to charity and visit local communities and listen to the grievances of local people.

Instead, a lot of the money became Ko's own personal wealth, which tarnishes his credibility, she said, calling on him to apologize to those who voted for him amid the recent controversies surrounding the party.

Lin's comments came one day after the TPP chairman admitted to using NT$43 million (US$1.34 million) of the election subsidy to buy an office unit inside a commercial building near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei's Zhongzheng District on May 10.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Monday, Ko noted that under TPP regulations, two-thirds of the election subsidy belongs to the candidate while the remainder goes to the party.

He said the TPP set up the rules based on those followed by other political parties, and on that basis used his portion of the subsidy to legally purchase the commercial unit as a personal office.

Without citing an example, the TPP chairman claimed that he followed the practice of previous presidential candidates who also used the money to establish a personal office.

According to the DPP councilor, Ko received about NT$110 million in subsidy from the government after the presidential election on Jan. 13.

Under Article 41 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, "if a pair of candidates receives not less than one-third of the total votes, they shall receive a campaign expense subsidy of NT$30 per vote."

Ko received about 3.69 million votes in the election, behind Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) of the main opposition Kuomintang with 4.67 million votes and the DPP's Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who was elected into office with roughly 5.58 million votes.

Local press have recently reported on Ko's election subsidy in the wake of recent controversies about discrepancies in the party's declaration of political donations and expenses for the 2024 presidential campaign.