TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Political reactions were swift after a court sentenced former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to 17 years in prison on Thursday (March 26), with Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties trading accusations that may further fracture the island's political landscape along familiar fault lines — a split that could define its politics through 2028.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) called on Ko to "respect the judiciary and face it bravely," while declining to comment on the specifics of the case. The party said in a statement it does not accept accusations lacking factual basis — an apparent reference to Ko's claims throughout the trial that the DPP weaponized the courts against him, a defense strategy he maintained even as he refused to answer questions about key evidence.
The opposition offered a sharply different assessment. Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), the current Taipei mayor and a member of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), suggested the public should scrutinize whether judicial standards are being applied consistently. He pointed to an unspecified Chinese spy case and a CPC Corporation (中油) corruption case as potential examples of double standards, stating "the public's eyes are sharp." Chiang said he had not yet read the written judgment but emphasized that verdicts should be based on facts rather than political motivation.
DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), who has long criticized Ko's alleged ties to China, characterized the verdict as vindication after what he described as 13 years of attacks from "blue, white, and red" — referring to the KMT, Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨), and China. "You tried to bury us, but you didn't know we are seeds," Shen wrote on Facebook.
Whether Ko appeals remains unclear — his defense team has made no announcement. But the political verdict on Thursday's legal verdict was already in: neither side showed any sign of accepting the other's version of justice, a divide likely to widen as Taiwan approaches its next presidential election in 2028. ◼