TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) former chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday (Feb. 27) sought to lift communication restrictions to arrange his father's funeral, scheduled for March 10.
Ko appeared in court for the first time in 57 days since his detention over the Core Pacific City (京華城) corruption case.
Maintaining a solemn demeanor, he exited the prison van and ignored all questions from reporters while several supporters cheered for him as his van arrived at the court.
Sporting a shaved head and a black-and-blue jacket, Ko wore blue-and-white slippers and handcuffs as he walked briskly past the media. Vicky Chen (陳智菡), director of the TPP legislative caucus, said, "Ko is very, very worried about his mother; he knows that she is in poor mental health."
Chen added that Ko's family faces numerous funeral arrangement dilemmas, such as deciding whether to place his father's ashes in a temple or a family cemetery. She conveyed Ko's message through his lawyer, expressing regret for not being at his father's bedside but emphasizing his wish to fulfill his filial duties now.
Ko's father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away on Feb. 17 at the National Taiwan University Hospital in Hsinchu at the age of 94.
