Taiwan's former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je is fighting his 17-year prison sentence, and the appeal is shaping up badly for him as prosecutors press for even tougher punishment.

• Ko told the High Court he is innocent and asked judges to throw out the original verdict.
• Prosecutors are appealing too, arguing the first court went too easy on him given the size of the misused donations, about NT$60 million.
• They also want to revive a charge the lower court rejected: that Ko and an aide put donated money into a film company as an investment and made a profit on it.
• Accountant Tuan-mu Cheng admitted guilt and asked for leniency, while two other co-defendants said the prosecution's appeal has no merit.
• Ko has brought in a new defense team and changed his legal strategy for this round.

Outlook: The court expects several more preparatory hearings before the political donations case is actually argued, so a ruling is still months away.