TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) decided on Monday (Nov. 18) to extend Chairman Ko Wen-je's (柯文哲) leave until Feb. 28, 2025, while he remains in custody. The party's Central Executive Committee (民眾黨中央委員會) chose not to appoint an acting chairman, opting instead to maintain the current collective leadership by the emergency response team.
After the meeting earlier that day, TPP spokesperson Celina Wu (吳怡萱) conveyed that all 14 committee members present unanimously approved extending Ko's leave by three months.
Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), the convener of the TPP Central Emergency Response Team (中央緊急應變小組), urged the public to avoid exploiting the situation. He emphasized that all party members remain united and party affairs continue to operate normally while reiterating their call to the Lai Ching-te (賴清德) administration for Ko's early release.
The Taipei District Court (台北地院) ordered Ko's detention for two more months in relation to the Core Pacific City (京華城) floor area ratio case. Authorities will hold him at Tucheng Detention Center (土城看守所) until January 2025. Ko had initially requested a three-month leave from the party, which is set to expire at the end of November.