Former Taipei mayor arrested amid major corruption investigation – Firstpost

A former Taipei mayor who heads a small opposition party was arrested early Saturday as part of an investigation into corruption allegations involving a major real estate project in the Taiwanese capital.

Ko Wen-je, mayor from 2014 to 2022 and third in January's presidential election, was arrested after investigators searched his home and party on Friday and interrogated him for hours, his Taiwan People's Party said.

Ko denied any wrongdoing in the case, which involves the approval of a real estate project during his tenure as mayor, telling reporters on Friday: “I know I have no problems.”

In a statement on Saturday, the TPP statement said it “calls on the court to carefully examine the legality of the arrest procedure during the indictment trial and give Chairman Ko Wen-je the justice he deserves.”

He and the TPP have also admitted that campaign funds were misdeclared during the presidential campaign. Ko said this week he would temporarily step down as party leader while the case was investigated and apologized to party supporters.

Ko was widely expected in Taiwanese media to run for president again in the next election in 2028, but opinion polls have shown that the scandals have dented support for him and the TPP, which he founded in 2019 in his attempt to create a third force in Taiwanese politics.

Although the TPP has only eight representatives in the 113-seat Taiwanese parliament, it plays an outsized role because neither the ruling Democratic Progressive Party nor the largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), have a majority.

The TPP and KMT joined forces this year to push through reforms that would give parliament more oversight powers, sparking mass protests. These reforms, which were rejected by President Lai Ching-te's DPP, are currently under review by Taiwan's Constitutional Court.

In the Taiwanese system, the president appoints the prime minister, who in turn forms the cabinet, and the president signs laws.