Taiwan's corruption trial tied to former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je moved into its appeal stage, with two key defendants denying wrongdoing while prosecutors push for harsher sentences.

• Core Pacific Group chairman Shen Ching-ching and Taipei city councilor Ying Hsiao-wei both told the High Court they are innocent, arguing that money linked to a building-bonus deal for the Core Pacific City redevelopment was legitimate donations to associations, not bribes.
• A third defendant, Wu Shun-min, who was acquitted at trial, also appeared and asked the court to uphold his not-guilty verdict.
• Prosecutors argued the opposite direction: that the first trial's sentences for Ying and Shen were too light and that Wu should be convicted.
• In the original March ruling, 9 of 11 defendants were found guilty, with Ko Wen-je sentenced to 17 years and Shen and Ying given 10 years and over 15 years respectively; a related company was also ordered to forfeit more than NT$12 billion.
• The case centers on claims that Shen funneled tens of millions of dollars to Ying in exchange for her pressuring city officials to approve extra building allowances for the Core Pacific City project.

Outlook: The appeal continues this month, with Ko Wen-je set to appear in court on November 16.