TPP founder Ko Wen-je said in Kaohsiung on November 1 that DPP candidate Lai Jui-lung received NT$3 million from Yunbao Energy and should be detained. Lai said all his political donations were declared according to law and accused opponents of using false information in election attacks.
According to United Daily News, TPP founder Ko Wen-je attended the launch of a support association for KMT Kaohsiung candidate Ke Chih-en in Sanmin District on November 1, alongside Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu. Nearly 1,000 people were reported to attend. Ko said his first purpose was to back Lin Yu-kai, the TPP's only Kaohsiung city council candidate.
광고 문의 · 300×250What Ko Wen-je claimed
Speaking of DPP mayoral candidate Lai Jui-lung, Ko said he should be detained immediately with no visitors, drawing applause. He claimed Yunbao Energy put NT$3 million into Lai's personal political donation account. The amount and circumstances are Ko's own assertion; the United Daily News report offers no independent evidence for it.
Ko noted that prosecutors cited a NT$2.1 million donation to the TPP linked to the Core Pacific City case as evidence in his own case, and argued Lai should be treated the same way. He called for a year of detention, searches of the donor's offices and DPP headquarters, and at least a year of detention for aides. These are a politician's demands, not judicial findings.
Lai Jui-lung's reply
At an event for council candidates, Lai rejected the claim. He said all his political donations were declared according to law, that the records have been public and open to scrutiny for six years, and that smears based on false information will not win support.
In related coverage, United Daily News said Ke Chih-en criticized Lai for naming Hsu Ming-chun, a former labor minister suspected of misusing employment funds, as head of his labor support group; that too is one side's claim. Whether prosecutors or courts have opened an investigation or filed charges against Lai over the Yunbao donation was not confirmed at the time of writing.
A United Daily News poll put Lai at 40%, Ke at 33.3% and 26% undecided; asked who would win, 49% said Lai and 21% said Ke. The paper also carried commentary saying Lai's standing weakened after the TV debate, and a single poll is not an election result.