The corruption case against Ko Wen-je, former mayor of Taipei and founding chairman of the Taiwan People's Party, has entered its second-instance trial, with prosecutors calling for a longer sentence — bad news for both Ko and the TPP.

• The High Court held its first hearing in Ko Wen-je's political donations case, and Ko denied wrongdoing in court.
• Prosecutors argued the first-instance sentence was too light, saying Ko and others had misappropriated more than NT$60 million in political donations through the Mucca company, and called for a heavier sentence.
• Prosecutors also appealed the portions on which Ko was acquitted, arguing that his use of NT$1 million in political donations to invest in a new media venture was unlawful.
• Ko was sentenced at first instance to 17 years in prison and six years' deprivation of civil rights; following the appeal, the High Court has divided the case into three main parts.
• TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang criticised the prosecution's grounds for appeal as a "hodgepodge" and questioned whether the court had allowed the defence enough time to respond to 428 pages of evidence.

Outlook: Further hearings are scheduled into mid-November, with the portion concerning Ko resuming on 16 November, so a verdict is not expected in the near term.