Ko urges supporters to 'keep pushing forward' despite his detention

Taipei, Sept. 5 (CNA) Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who has been mired in a corruption case dating back to his tenure as Taipei mayor, called on his supporters Thursday to "keep pushing forward," in the wake of a court decision to detain him in connection with the case.

In a pre-recorded video uploaded to his Facebook page Thursday night, Ko apologized to his supporters for causing them "concern," after the Taipei District Court ruled that he be held incommunicado, which was a reversal of its decision on Monday to release him without bail.

"The best way to help me is to take good care of yourselves," Ko said in the Facebook video. "Live each day with purpose and happiness. Keep kindness in your heart and always do your best."

"Let's keep pushing forward," he said to his supporters, clenching his right fist in the video, which the TPP said was recorded Thursday morning and released later in the day after the court ruling.

Taipei prosecutors, citing additional evidence, on Wednesday appealed the initial ruling for Ko to be released without bail, accusing Ko of involvement in corrupt real-estate dealings during his second term as Taipei mayor from 2018 to 2022.

In the appeal, the High Court concluded that Ko had been "actively involved" in the alleged corruption, and it ruled that the district court hold a second detention hearing in the case.

In the second detention hearing on Thursday, the Taipei District Court ruled that Ko "clearly knew" that raising the floor area ratio (FAR) of Core Pacific City, a shopping mall in Songshan District, was illegal but he "insisted" on going through with it.

Ko's case aligns with the crime of knowingly "seeking unlawful gains for oneself or others," the court said, citing Article 6 of the Anti-Corruption Act.

In response, the TPP said that the FAR decision was a joint one made also by the Urban Planning Review Committee, rather than solely by Ko.

The Taipei Department of Urban Development earlier this year reaffirmed the legitimacy and propriety of the FAR decision, the TPP said in the statement, citing a press release issued in January by the department, under the leadership of the incumbent Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Kuomintang.

In its statement, the TPP said Ko "has been facing unfair judicial treatment" since his residence and his party's headquarters were raided on Aug. 30 by authorities, who had "clearly exceeded the scope of their authority."

The TPP argued that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to seek Ko's detention and that the public had "witnessed collusion between prosecutors and certain media outlets," thus undermining the rule of law and further dividing Taiwan's society.

The opposition party also said that in Thursday's detention hearing, no evidence of bribery or the rumored "illegal financial flows" were presented, which meant that the court's decision was "based solely on speculation."