Ten years ago, doctor Ko Wen-je entered politics wearing a white robe, flaunting the image of a clean "political novice", attracting a large number of young supporters and middle-class voters.

Ten years later, he was in prison in prison clothes. After being detained for more than 100 days on suspicion of corruption, the prosecutors formally asked the court to sentence him to 28 and a half years on December 26, 2024. The Taipei District Court ruled in the early morning of the 27th that Ko Wen-je should be released on bail of NT$30 million. The People's Party issued a statement criticizing this as a "political persecution."

In the past ten years, Ko Wen-je has become a force that cannot be ignored in Taiwan's political arena - from his election as mayor of Taipei as an independent and the creation of the Taiwan People's Party, which is now the third largest party in the Congress, to his candidacy for the presidency this year to challenge the blue and green parties, his popularity plummeted due to political donations and the Jinghua City case.

Some scholars have pointed out that as Ko Wen-je gets more deeply involved in politics, different groups of supporters "slowly begin to drop out." BBC Chinese interviewed "Ko fans" and "Ko haters" at different stages, and analyzed whether there is a possibility of a "third force leader" in Taiwan's political arena.