Meanwhile,

Ko Wen-je has resigned as chairman of the Taiwan People's Party and will be
replaced on an acting basis by lawmaker Huang Kuo-chang.

According to the T-P-P's Jiang Ho-shu, Ko announced his resignation as
chairman during an expanded meeting of the party's Central Committee.

Jiang says the committee tried to persuade him to remain in the post, but Ko
was adamant that he should step down as party head, but said he will remain a
"lifetime member" of the T-P-P and guiding force for the party.

The committee then moved to nominate Huang as acting chairman - which was
approved by all 15 committee members.

In a livestreamed video after the committee meeting, Ko said he decided to
resign as chairman so that the "lengthy judicial process" of his trial would
not "blur the focus" and harm the party.

Ko went on to say that the T-P-P has become a "major political force" in
Taiwan, and he will absolutely "not let personal matters impede the its
development - or the development of Taiwan's democracy.