During the trial of the Jing-Hua City case at the Taipei District Court on the 20th, former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je was questioned regarding his detention. Ko stated that he would not flee and claimed that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would hope most for his escape since the Kuomintang (KMT) is on the verge of collapse. If he flees, the People's Party would disintegrate, allowing the DPP to maintain long-term governance.
According to comprehensive media reports in Taiwan, the Taipei District Court on Tuesday conducted hearings on the Jing-Hua City case and the political donations case. It questioned whether the detention of the accused, including Ko Wen-je, Wei-Chin Group chairman Shen Ching-ching, KMT Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei, and former Taipei Mayor's Office Director Li Wen-zong, should be extended.
Ko Wen-je asserted that he would not flee. He believes that the DPP would most desire his escape because if he did, the Taiwan People's Party would collapse, and with the KMT on its last legs, the DPP might hold on to long-term power.
Ko also mentioned that during his detention, his father passed away, and his mother's Alzheimer's disease has been worsening. Hearing the judge say the trial has just begun and that conclusion is far away, he remarked, “my heart went cold.”
He further noted that during the investigation period, he was detained twice without filing a complaint. But after reading the indictment, he was shocked as it reads “like a novel,” filled entirely with prosecutors' conjectures and speculations. He added that no one has accused him of bribery so far, and he believes that with time, the truth will reveal itself piece by piece.
● Ko Wen-je's Wife and Mother Both Suffer from Serious Illnesses
Moreover, Ko Wen-je's wife, Chen Pei-chi, posted on Facebook on Tuesday, stating that she suffers from severe depression and is trying hard to manage her condition, hoping not to increase medication doses, and emphasizing she would persist in living well.
She also mentioned that Ko's mother's cognitive function has rapidly declined, experiencing confusion about time, place, people, and events, even failing to recognize familiar people, and is accompanied by unexplained lower limb pain, rendering her bedridden.
Chen Pei-chi said as a doctor, she knows that long-term bedridden elderly patients' health deteriorates rapidly. She questioned, “Has my husband been stripped of the right to care for his seriously ill father and fully attend the farewell ceremony, and now also deprived of the chance to care for his mother?”
Chen Pei-chi also addressed Taiwan President Lai Ching-te: “President Lai, do you know that judiciary satisfaction among the public is the lowest and least trusted? You say you won’t intervene in individual cases, but do the judicial personnel you employ have political biases and flatter the superior's intentions? Are they fair in judging cases? This case has been in court for several months, it’s clear to all, yet they still use flight risk and evidence tampering to extend the detention? It’s been over 9 months, there's no evidence, can't you acknowledge one's innocence and release him? Do you continue to use cross-examination and respect for the trial-level system as reasons to keep my husband detained?”