By Chu Meng-hsiang 朱孟庠
Since he was released on bail, former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has not publicly urged his former secretary Hsu Chih-yu (許芷瑜) to return to Taiwan to clarify details about the corruption scandal he faces. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Acting Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) has not called for her to return either.
The TPP only shouts about judicial persecution while disregarding the law. As a legislator himself, Huang is leading the TPP’s young supporters to challenge the seriousness of the judiciary.
Former representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who is President William Lai’s (賴清德) senior adviser, recently compared the Taiwanese judicial system with Japan’s, saying it was like comparing apples with oranges. The guilty plea rate among corrupt officials in Japan is rather high, while in Taiwan such officials prefer to lie and destroy evidence.
However, when offenders in Taiwan plead guilty, the rate of conviction is 99.9 percent, the same as Japan’s.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office says it has enough evidence to prove that Ko took money he should not have — although it has yet to find out where the cash went. It says there was likely a quid pro quo to increase the floor area ratio of the Core Pacific City project, which is why Ko has been indicted.
The alleged behavior meets the definition of corruption and acceptance of bribes.
Perhaps Ko’s supporters could check the statements of Shao Hsiu-pei (邵琇珮), the executive secretary of the Taipei Urban Planning Commission, who was forced to break the law after seeing Ko during his time as Taipei mayor bully disobedient civil servants by threatening that they would “never be hired again.”
After reading the indictment, Huang has bullied the judiciary, challenged the rule of law and besmirched the public’s intelligence. He is the most despicable character in this situation.
Chu Meng-hsiang is a former deputy secretary-general of the Lee Teng-hui Foundation.
Translated by Eddy Chang
