President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday condemned a Government Information Office (GIO) official whose online articles smeared Taiwan and Taiwanese, breaking his silence on the controversy to say Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英) was unfit for office.
Describing Kuo’s articles as “unquestionably extreme and discriminatory,” Ma said that “as a civil servant, he made inconsistent remarks, lied to his supervisors and neglected his duties.
“He is undoubtedly unfit for his job. The GIO deserves recognition for handling the matter in a quick and appropriate manner,” Ma said while meeting members of the Air Force Elementary School Alumni Association residing in the US and Canada, at the Presidential Office.
Kuo, the former acting director of the information division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Toronto, had initially denied writing a number of articles insulting Taiwan and Taiwanese under the pen name Fan Lan-chin (范蘭欽) when he was summoned back to Taiwan last week.
But in an interview with cable station CTI-TV on Monday he admitted he was Fan.
Kuo defended himself, saying that “one has the right to tell lies in the face of enemies.”
After the interview aired, the GIO gave Kuo two major demerits and stripped him of his official status because he had “committed an indiscretion that seriously damaged the reputation of civil servants and the government, based on Article 12 of the Civil Service Performance Evaluation Act (公務人員考績法).”
Emphasizing that he had made vigorous efforts to safeguard freedom of speech, Ma said that when he was Taipei mayor, he made the city “the freest place in the world” where people could protest 24 hours a day.
Ma said that although he respected freedom of speech, the right was not absolute.
“If someone incites ethnic confrontation and harms people’s feelings, such a freedom cannot be tolerated and must be condemned,” he said. “Nobody can hide under the umbrella of freedom of speech and engage in improper acts or instigate ethnic conflict.”
Ma said that he hoped the GIO’s decision would end the Kuo controversy. He also urged the public to seize the opportunity and raise the country to a new level.
“Let’s begin today and work toward ethnic and social harmony, and peace in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “Let’s work together so the Chinese people can pursue progress and world peace in an amicable atmosphere.”
Ma then launched into a paean to Chinese culture and heritage, saying Taiwan had brought forth the new culture based on the old Chinese one, which had been made possible by more than one individual or ethnic group.
Only love and respect could resolve ethnic problems, he said, adding that government leaders are duty bound to promise the public a future that is conflict-free and harmonious, he said.
Since the Republic of China government relocated from China 60 years ago, Ma said the Taiwanese have worked together to create economic and democratic miracles.
“Together, we have created the most valuable experience of the descendants of the Yen and Yellow emperors,” he said. “This is our only country and homeland. We are one family and it is unnecessary to arouse sensitive issues and create confrontation.”
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) dismissed speculation that Ma’s remarks were an attempt at damage control ahead of Saturday’s legislative by-election in Taipei’s Da-an District (大安).
RSS