Protesters are calling for the release of former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People's Party Chair Ko Wen-je after prosecutors applied to detain the former presidential candidate for two months on corruption charges.
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00:00It's been a tumultuous weekend in Taiwanese politics after Taiwan People's Party chair
00:05and former presidential candidate Ko Wenzhe was arrested on suspicion of corruption.
00:12Prosecutors are now asking to detain Ko for an extended period as they build their case
00:16against him.
00:17The court is hearing that application today, and if successful, Ko will remain in detention
00:22for two months.
00:23Now, the arrest of any major opposition politician is bound to be controversial, and outside
00:29of the prosecutor's office, dozens of Ko Wenzhe supporters have shown up.
00:33The atmosphere is tense.
01:00Ko is facing a slew of corruption charges related to a land development project during
01:05his time as Taipei mayor.
01:07If the court grants the prosecutors' request, then Ko Wenzhe will be held incommunicado,
01:13which means he will not be able to have contact with anybody except for his lawyer while in
01:18detention.
01:19And that's because prosecutors believe that Ko may try to collude with other suspects
01:23in this case or try to destroy evidence related to it.
01:26All eyes are now on the outcome of this hearing.
01:29Patrick Sun and Leslie Liao in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.