Taiwan opposition leader released due to lack of evidence

Ko Wen-je, founder and chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, speaks to supporters in Taipei on Sept. 2, 2024, after being released by the authorities

The leader of Taiwan’s second-largest opposition party was released without bail early Monday after a Taipei court decided evidence presented by prosecutors regarding his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal was insufficient, local media said.

Ko Wen-je, founder and chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, was arrested Saturday over the scandal related to a shopping centre development project during his tenure as Taipei mayor. Prosecutors, however, said they will appeal the court decision.

The former Taipei mayor who served between 2014 and 2022 has been accused of illegal real-estate dealings during his second mayoral term, with allegations that he increased the ratio of the shopping mall’s total floor area to the size of the land upon which it was built to raise the property’s financial value.

The court ruled Ko had not been aware of any illegality in the process of raising the floor area ratio, according to media reports.

Even though Ko unsuccessfully ran in the island’s January presidential election, the TPP still holds the balance of power in Taiwan’s parliament with both the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the main opposition Nationalist Party having failed to secure a majority.