In news from and about Taiwan this morning ...

Taiwan People's Party founder and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je says he will
"not surrender or yield" after being found guilty by the Taipei District
Court on charges of bribery and corruption.

Speaking to reporters after the court handed down a 17 year prison sentence,
Ko said he didn't "seek improper benefits, nor commit corruption" and the
case didn't "pursue factual truth" and involved "too much political
interference."

Ko described the case against him and his trail as "a political script
written in advance" - arguing that procedural justice had been undermined -
with "rules of evidence discarded" and testimony "selectively accepted."

According to the former Taipei mayor, the court used 2.1-million N-T donation
from the Core Pacific Group to convict him of corruption, despite prosecutors
failing to find any evidence of "illicit financial flows.

The court sentenced Ko to 13 years in prison for corruption, two years for
one case of misappropriating political donations, three years and six months
for another, and two years for breach of public trust.

The court also sentenced Core Pacific Group founder and chairman Shen
Ching-jing to 10 years in prison.

While Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying was sentenced to 15 years and six
months in prison for pressuring city government officials to facilitate
approval of the Core Pacific City development project.

All three defendants were present at the court for the verdict.

Meanwhile,

T-P-P Chairman Huang Kuo-chang told reporters the he was "unable to believe"
the verdict and described it as "political judgment."

Huang says the party will will remain united behind Ko and supporters will
rally on Ketagalan Boulevard on Sunday afternoon to show they support for the
T-P-P founder.