A former mayor of Taipei who heads a small opposition party was arrested early on Saturday as part of a graft probe of a major property development in the Taiwanese capital. - REUTERS
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00:00Taiwanese authorities arrested former mayor of Taipei, Ko Wen-je, early Saturday as part
00:06of a graft probe of a major property development in the Taiwanese capital.
00:11The case involves approvals given for a property project when he was mayor from 2014 to 2022.
00:18He's denied wrongdoing and the Taiwan People's Party, which he heads, in a statement Saturday
00:23said it calls on the court to carefully examine the legality of the arrest procedure during
00:28the arraignment process and to return justice to Chairman Ko Wen-je as he deserves.
00:33Ko came third in January's presidential election heading the opposition TPP.
00:38He founded the party in 2019 in a bid to break the traditional two-party mould in Taiwan
00:44between the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang.
00:48Ko's TPP won passionate support, especially among young people, for putting issues like
00:52the high cost of housing and low wages at the centre of his campaign.
00:57But they've been hit by other scandals recently.
00:59Just weeks ago, they acknowledged misreporting campaign funds during the presidential race.
01:05Ko said he would step down temporarily as party chairman as that case was under investigation
01:10and apologised to his supporters.
01:13Even as Taiwan media widely expects Ko to seek the presidency again at the next election
01:18in 2028, opinion polls show the scandals have hammered support for him and his party.
01:24People have also taken to the streets to march against legislative reforms pushed through
01:29jointly by the TPP and KMT to give lawmakers greater oversight power to question officials,
01:35military figures or citizens, criminalise contempt of parliament by government officials
01:40and require the president to give regular reports to parliament and answer lawmakers'
01:45questions, which would be a first for Taiwan.