The Taiwan High Court has revoked Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) release without bail this Wednesday following his release earlier this week, citing Ko’s active intervention in the case as reason to further investigate whether or not he had knowledge or suspicion of the Core Pacific City corruption scandal. Ko was detained yet again around 9:18 a.m. this Thursday.
Ko, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman on sabbatical leave and former Taipei mayor, declined to comment when questioned by the media upon his arrival at the Taipei District Court Thursday morning. The detention court will convene at 2:00 p.m. after processing the prosecutor’s complaint and new evidence. In the meantime, Ko is to remain in custody, but will not be put in restraints unless he starts resisting.
The TPP held a press conference at the party headquarters to reaffirm their stance that Ko is innocent. TPP legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said the entire party supports Ko in defending his rights during the judicial process. Huang claimed the government is trampling on Taiwan’s democracy and laws with the way the investigation is being handled, and called on party officials to stick to their posts and persevere to show their support.
As parades and rallies are not allowed in front of the court, the TPP has applied to show their support around the Taipei Metro Xiaonanmen Station. Police Chief Chen Yu-chien (陳育健) said 400 officers had been deployed to enforce security in the area.