As Kyunghae-dan case appeal nears, Ko Wen-je says he must “pretend to be happy” each day

Ko Wen-je says he has learned to “pretend to be happy” each day as he prepares for a second trial in the Kyunghae-dan development and political donation cases.

The Taiwan People's Party's founding chairman made the comment when reporters asked about his state of mind before the appeal hearing, which is expected to take place soon. “Even if I’m not happy, I still have to pretend to be happy every day,” Ko said, adding that people should not torment themselves or others.

Ko looked back on the past two years as a succession of legal and financial pressures. He said he had spent a year in detention, then became occupied with court appearances after his release. He also dealt with penalty documents from the Control Yuan. For nearly two months, he said, notices ordering the seizure of funds arrived from the Ministry of Justice’s Administrative Enforcement Agency almost every week.

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Even if I’m not happy, I still have to pretend to be happy every day.

He said his wife had sent him another notice that morning concerning the seizure of his NT$70 million bail deposit. Ko said his Asperger’s syndrome gave him a relatively high tolerance for outside pressure, but that the situation had been especially hard on Chen, who handles the family’s finances.

“Even if I can’t live each day happily, I still have to pretend to be happy,” Ko said. “Don’t torment yourself, and don’t torment others. Don’t be so selfish. In any case, I hope Taiwan can become better.”

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Even if I can’t live each day happily, I still have to pretend to be happy. Don’t torment yourself, and don’t torment others. Don’t be so selfish. In any case, I hope Taiwan can become better.