Ko Wen-je was sentenced to 17 years in prison and stripped of his civil rights at the first instance. He said the real purpose of the case is to prevent him from running in the 2028 presidential election — bad news for the Taiwan People's Party's presidential plans.

• Ko said that even an acquittal on appeal would come too late: as long as the litigation drags on past 2028, Lai Ching-te will already have achieved his goal.
• He argues that treating the NT$2.1 million donated to the TPP as vote-buying is the starting point of the entire line of reasoning.
• Whether the TPP will cooperate with the Kuomintang in 2028, nominate Huang Kuo-chang, or look for another candidate will all be discussed only after the year-end local elections.
• Ko travelled south to Yunlin to campaign for KMT candidate Chang Chia-chun, with blue-white cooperation starting at the local level.
• His wife Chen Pei-chi has been under heavy emotional strain as court documents and seizure notices arrived one after another, and had been preparing to hold an international press conference to protest the injustice.

Outlook: The TPP will not announce its 2028 candidate any time soon; the results of the year-end local elections will determine whether Huang Kuo-chang emerges as the nominee and whether the blue and white camps cooperate.