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★ The Diplomat (US), 2024-9-11: The allegations against the former presidential candidate raise questions about pervasive corruption at all levels of government. Corruption and patronage are "in the DNA" of local politics. while legislators (law makers) must declare their interests, there is no such requirement for local representatives. “All the money laundering and things like that can be done by these local officials for their big brothers in the legislature”. Almost all [high-level] politicians come from local politics, a bottom-up spoils system is thus cultivated. thediplomat.com/2024/09/the-ko-wen-je-case-points-to-deeper-problems-in-taiwan-politics/
★ War On The Rocks (2024-9-20): Washington is quietly watching how Taiwan's new president Lai consolidates power, using the court to prosecute former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan over corruption allegations. Cheng's arrest reflects an intra-party political struggle between a pair of long-time rivals. The arrest and detention of Taiwan People's Party chairman and former Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je on corruption charges, as well as a number of corruption cases involving Kuomintang (KMT) officials have Lai's critics protesting that he is using the judiciary to persecute rivals. Washington observers might worry that Lai is undermining the independence of the judicial system...
★ Financial Times (UK), 2024-9-6: Ko Wen-je's arrest rekindles debate over widespread corruption surrounding development projects and public procurement, as well as the independence of the judiciary. Taiwan slid in Transparency International's global corruption perceptions index, and its score dropped slightly for the first time since Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016. Opposition accusations of DPP officials abusing their positions and engaging in corruption contributed to Lai receiving the lowest winning vote share in 24 years in a three-way presidential race. The DPP also lost its parliamentary majority. Prosecutors' swift moves against Cheng and Ko have prompted Taiwanese commentators to question whether president Lai Ching-te was “cleaning house” of political rivals or pushing an anti-corruption crackdown to win back public support ( at the same time divert attention from the current chaos in domestic politics). ft.com/content/65c8f0f5-de31-4f10-89cb-b2f5acfddc2b
Former Taiwan Presidential Hopeful Arrested for Corruption (suspected of the crime of "Abuse of Public Power for Private Profit") |
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After being released by the court at 2024-9-2, the Chair of TPP (second largest opposition party) Ko Wen-je told reporters he experienced "extreme oppression, mistreatment and abuses" (「極盡壓迫跟凌虐」) by prosecutors during two days' detention. | |
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