Official slams ex-attache's protest in Guatemala City

A senior official of the Presidential Office expressed deep regret that a former military attache stationed in Guatemala protested while Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) was receiving an honorary doctorate from Guatemala's San Carlos University on Friday.

Lu, who is on a two-day visit to Guatemala, visited the university right after her arrival at the Guatemalan Air Force airport and gave a speech at the Engineering School before receiving the honorary doctorate.

During the award ceremony, Kui Wu-yung, a former military attache of the embassy in Guatemala, unfurled a banner protesting the March 20 election results. The banner read "Truth, vote-rigging, shame."

Almost as soon as Kui unveiled the banner he was expelled by both local and Taiwanese security guards from the auditorium.

Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Office James Huang (黃志芳), who is a member of Lu's entourage, told Taiwanese reporters after the incident that the protester's behavior could harm the nation's image.

According to Huang, politics should not interfere in or "pollute" universities, since, he claimed, they are "traditionally considered by the West as sacred places."

He did not elaborate on this idea, but added that it is unwise to bring domestic political disputes to an ally's university, since such behavior could harm the country's international image.

Huang said Lu has done her utmost to promote the nation's diplomatic relations, even though the wounds she received in the March 19 assassination attempt haven't healed.

Diplomacy concerns the national interests and all political parties should help push the nation's diplomatic ties with other countries, Huang said.

Meanwhile, Chen Hsing-hsiung (陳幸雄), who is president of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce in Guatemala, said that he was opposed to the former attache's protest, noting that both President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Lu were elected by the people and that the majority's choice should be respected.

Claiming that all the other Taiwanese expatriates living in Guatemala support the government and welcome Lu's visit, Chen Hsing-hsiung said that the protester's behavior does not represent their voice and stance.

Lu was scheduled to meet with Guatemalan President Oscar Berger and Vice President Eduardo Stein during her visit as well as human rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu.