“Free KP” rally gathers TPP supporters
TPP supporters believe their party’s erstwhile leader has been railroaded and gathered in the tens of thousands for Ko Wen-je to be freed
Is justice truly just in Taiwan? That’s the question the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) posed yesterday during a rally against judicial persecution at Liberty Square. Ostensibly about supporting former TPP chairman and founder Ko Wen-je—detained incommunicado over a litany of alleged misdeeds—the rally aimed to shine a spotlight on a deeper issue: the systemic misuse of prosecutorial power to target political opponents.
Ko’s corruption charges have dented his popularity, but his die-hard supporters—calling him “KP”—remain fiercely loyal. Despite the dreary, drizzling Taipei weather, the turnout was staggering. Liberty Square overflowed, with crowds stretching all the way to Aiguo East Road. The organizers claimed 150,000 attendees, though media estimates suggest closer to 80,000—a figure I’d believe.
The organizers were canny in putting the focus not on Ko himself but to make a grand case that prosecutors in Taiwan are not fair dealers and have been putting political enemies of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the crosshairs. They could find no more sympathetic surrogate than Wang Yu-wen, a former aide of Hsinchu mayor Ann Gao.
The prosecutors told her she’ll go to jail for at least seven years if she didn’t admit guilt for misappropriating funds. Despite the pressure of the heavy sentence, Wang stood her ground. She was insistent she did nothing wrong.
“We’ve got instructions from above to go after Mayor Gao and her assistants,” she was told by prosecutors in her hearing.
“When I heard that, I felt a chill in my heart,” said Wang at the rally, “I thought ‘goodness, how is it possible for the prosecutor to say a thing like that.’”
She took solace in the fact that the hearings were all recorded. But when she asked for the tapes, she was shocked to find that particular conversation had been snipped out. When she raised the issue, she was accused by another prosecutor of “trying to influence the narrative.”
In the end Wang was found guilty of misappropriating NTD$466 over 8 months. That, dear readers, is US$14.91. On average, that is less than two dollars a month. Thankfully, she wasn’t put in jail for 7 years as the prosecutors warned. She was given a two year sentence, suspended for five years.
Wang was not the only one with a personal testimony of an unsavory run-in with the law. KMT Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan said she was the victim of a fake sting operation instigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau.
“I was being framed for vote-buying,” said Chang, “Fortunately, one of the persons involved had recordings of everything so I was able to clear my name.”
Chang was not the only KMT politico to declare their solidarity with Ko. I counted 12 KMT legislators showing up to be counted, including the fiery heavyweight Hsieh Long-jie of Tainan. Speaking completely in Taiwanese, Hsieh excoriated Taiwan’s prosecutors for becoming a tool of the ruling DPP.
“Today they’re going after Ko Wen-je. Tomorrow it might be me. The day after that, it could be any one of you,” said Hsieh.
It’s amazing to see the KMT coming out en-masse to speak up for Ko and for them to be embraced in turn by the crowd. While the two parties are in a marriage of convenience against the DPP, there’s always been bad blood before. That’s why they couldn’t get it together to create a joint ticket for the January 2024 presidential elections.
Well times have changed. Watching the KMT lawmakers greeting their TPP counterparts, I sense genuine warmth and camaraderie. It could be we are witnessing the birth of a true partnership with mutual respect.
As the crowd dispersed after a 4+ hour rally they lit up their phones like lighters and waved. Did we just come together only to disperse again, or is this the beginning of some changes in the air in Taiwan? Somebody asked me just recently if I’d consider going into politics and my instinctive, unconsidered, amygdala-brained response was an automatic “oh hell no, the water is too deep. I don’t fancy going to jail.” There’s a million and one reasons why I shouldn’t to go into politics in Taiwan. But the fact that “I think the judicial system would get me” is the one reason that floated to the surface first is really, really f****ed up.
I think back to Wang…a young woman at the beginning of her life and her career. Her nickname was “Jellyfish.” Staring down prosecutors she knew was out to get her and a potential 7+ year sentence to say “I did nothing wrong.” Refusing to cashier her boss. Getting found guilty anyhow on a stupid trumped-up charge, which will remain on her record though she ended up with a suspended sentence. I’m not strong as her. And people who are not strong as her should not be in politics in Taiwan.
I’m glad the TPP and KMT have come together to support Ko now. But just as a reminder…they didn’t do so for Ann Gao and her assistants. The case of railroading is much clearer in her case. But they didn’t dare stand up for her like they’re doing for Ko. I…don’t know exactly how to feel about that. Except this: my hat off to Wang Yu-wen. Young lady, you have my full admiration. Those who tried to cow you into silence and complicity had no idea who they were dealing with.