The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it had beefed up security at its Toronto office after receiving numerous phone calls threatening to harm the office’s staff over racist remarks allegedly made by the acting director of its information division, Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英).
Kuo has been accused of publishing a number of articles defaming Taiwan and its people under the pen name “Fan Lan-chin” (范蘭欽).
MOFA sources said anonymous threats were made to the Toronto Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) between March 14 and March 17 when Kuo was summoned by the Government Information Office (GIO) to return to Taiwan to answer questions about the allegations.
The Canadian police have been notified of the threats and MOFA also recently instructed all of its foreign service personnel to be mindful of their words and conduct while representing the country abroad.
The Toronto office currently has 10 staff — five from MOFA, two from the Overseas Compatriots Affairs Commission, two from the GIO and one National Immigration Agency officer.
As the Kuo case snowballs, a number of diplomatic personnel have expressed concern to the ministry, saying if the case is not properly handled, it might trigger a domino effect of vehement protest from overseas Taiwanese compatriots.
The consequences could impede MOFA personnel from performing their duties, they said, warning the government not to treat the matter lightly.
A number of foreign service workers also said that Kuo’s alleged misconduct had not only stirred up tension among overseas compatriots, but had also led many to suspect that there are more “Fan Lan-chins” hidden among foreign services personnel.
The Kuo case has inconvenienced the Toronto office as well as representative offices and embassies in the world, they said.
The legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee on Thursday demanded the nation’s missions beef up supervision and management of their offices, and concluded that Wang Kuo-ran (王國然), the head of the Toronto office, needed to produce a written report on the matter.
In response, MOFA said Wang had submitted a report to the ministry and vowed to closely monitor the information division as Kuo hands over management of the office to another staff member before his return to Taiwan this month under GIO instructions.
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