In the first trial, he was sentenced to 17 years. Ko Wen-je declared to Lai Ching-te: I will never surrender.

According to Taiwan's China Times News, on the evening of March 26, former chairman of the Taiwan People's Party and former mayor of Taipei, Ko Wen-je, held a press conference, criticizing the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for replacing the presumption of innocence with a presumption of guilt, using detention to force confessions instead of substantive evidence, and openly stating that the government authorities want to "get rid of him" for electoral and political considerations. Ko Wen-je, speaking passionately, also directed his criticism towards Taiwan's regional leader Lai Ching-te, emphasizing, "Lai Ching-te, I will never surrender! Lai Ching-te, I will not yield!" Earlier on the afternoon of the 26th, the first trial of the case involving Ko Wen-je and the political donation case was announced. The Taipei District Court sentenced Ko Wen-je on four major charges including the Jinghua City case and the political donation case, sentencing him to 17 years in prison.