A one-time rising star in Taiwan's political scene has fled to China rather than face an eight-year corruption sentence, embarrassing the Taiwan People's Party and raising fresh doubts about how well Taiwan stops convicted officials from escaping.

• Chen Ya-lin, once billed as Taiwan's youngest township chief, got eight years for taking bribes on public works and misusing an official car.
• He slipped out of the country before the trial verdict even landed in late January, earlier than anyone expected, and is now wanted after repeatedly failing to show up for his appeal.
• He is the second person close to Ko Wen-je to be put on a wanted list and run, after Ko's former aide known as "Orange."
• Court documents show he drew a high monthly salary from a company tied to Ko's operation and was paid in untraceable cash — awkward for a party that campaigns on clean finances.
• Pingtung has seen a string of local politicians convicted and then vanish, and prosecutors admit the system for catching flight risks is too slow.

Outlook: Prosecutors say they will tighten monitoring of convicted defendants likely to run, but with Chen already in China there is little realistic chance of bringing him back.