Alliance with TPP remains unchanged after Ko's release: KMT lawmakers

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) Several opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers said Monday that their party's alliance with the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP) will remain unchanged following Ko Wen-je's (柯文哲) release from detention earlier in the day.

The strategic partnership with the TPP will continue with the goal of ousting the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from power in 2028, KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said.

Ko, former TPP chairman and Taipei mayor, was granted release by the Taipei District Court earlier Monday after posting bail of NT$70 million (US$2.29 million). He had been held in incommunicado detention for a year on corruption charges following his two terms as Taipei mayor from 2014 to 2022.

There is no reason why the two parties cannot continue to work together, particularly now that Ko has seen the extent of the DPP's manipulation of the judiciary, Wang said.

Expressing similar views, KMT lawmaker Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡) said the KMT and TPP have worked well together in the Legislature on various livelihood issues, and she is confident they will continue their cooperation to advance policies that benefit the public and support the disadvantaged.

Meanwhile, KMT spokesperson Crystal Yang (楊智伃) and the party's caucus Deputy Secretary-General Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said the KMT and TPP remain committed to the oversight of the ruling party.

Earlier Monday, Ko thanked his supporters for standing by him over the past year, during which he said Taipei prosecutors found "nothing" incriminating, despite comprehensive searches targeting him, his family, his assistants, and his party.

Ko was detained on Sept. 5, 2024 and indicted in December of the same year on four charges, including accepting bribes for a property redevelopment case while serving as Taipei mayor, and embezzling political donations during his 2024 presidential campaign.

Prosecutors are seeking a total sentence of 28.5 years for Ko, who has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation and his ongoing trial.