TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Former presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) denounced his 17-year prison sentence Thursday (March 26) as a "pre-written political script," calling the ruling a case of "political manipulation." His Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) has called supporters to protest Sunday on Ketagalan Boulevard, the avenue facing Taiwan's Presidential Office. The rival Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) has not confirmed participation, but Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) called for opposition unity, warning of "a serious abuse of state power."
Ko, 66, appeared at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center (台大醫院國際會議中心) hours after the Taipei District Court (台北地方法院) delivered the verdict. The former Taipei mayor, convicted on corruption charges from his 2014-2022 tenure, accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) of weaponizing the judiciary. TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Secretary-General Chou Yu-hsiu (周榆修) stood alongside Ko and his defense attorneys.
"This is not a trial in a rule-of-law country," Ko told supporters at the packed venue, denouncing the proceedings as politically motivated. "This is a judicial performance under political manipulation. I did not seek personal gain, and I will not engage in corruption." Ko maintained his innocence throughout the press conference, drawing sustained applause from TPP members present.
Huang announced a national mobilization order for Friday morning, summoning supporters to Ketagalan Boulevard for Sunday afternoon to demand what he called justice for Ko. He vowed the TPP would "stand on the front line" against what he called the "green authoritarianism" of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Taiwan's president since May 2024. Supporters waved flags and cheered for more than 30 seconds following his remarks.
The KMT voiced support for unity but announced no concrete action. Cheng, speaking at National Chengchi University (政大), called the verdict a symptom of systemic judicial failure and warned of "a serious abuse of state power." "The opposition has a strong awareness that it must unite to win the 2026 elections and achieve a change of government in 2028," she said. KMT Taoyuan City Councilor Ling Tao (凌濤) declared that "blue-white unity," a term for KMT-TPP cooperation, must begin immediately. Neither indicated whether the KMT would join Sunday's protest.
The opposition's calls for solidarity carry the weight of recent betrayal. In November 2023, Ko tore up a six-point cooperation agreement with the KMT at the Grand Hyatt Taipei (君悅酒店), an incident party insiders call the "Grand Hyatt disaster" (君悅慘案). That rupture sent both parties into the 2024 presidential election divided, allowing DPP candidate Lai to win with a plurality. Former 2024 KMT vice presidential candidate Chao Shao-kang (趙少康) recently suggested Ko might not have faced prolonged detention had the opposition cooperated — and that Ko "probably regrets it."
The verdict has reshuffled power dynamics within the TPP, with party authority shifting toward Huang as Ko focuses on his legal defense. Ko spent 368 days in pretrial detention before posting NT$70 million (around US$2.19 million) bail and remains under electronic ankle monitoring, barring him from leaving Taiwan. Whether the TPP evolves from "Ko's will" to "Huang's line" could shape a future KMT coalition.
Ko remains under investigation in six other cases, the details of which have not been fully disclosed, and his defense team has not announced whether he will appeal. His supporters will gather at Ketagalan Boulevard on Sunday, demanding justice. For the man who once promised to transcend Taiwan's blue-green divide — and then deepened it at the Grand Hyatt — the path forward depends on the alliance he destroyed. Whether that alliance emerges from conviction or convenience remains to be seen. ◼ (At time of reporting, US$1 equals approximately NT$31.96)