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Foreign minister chastises outspoken envoy

Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said yesterday that representative to Singapore Hu Wei-jen's (胡為真) criticism of government policies was inappropriate and set a bad example for civil servants.

In an interview with a Chinese-language newspaper in Singapore, Lianhe Zaobao, published on Saturday, Hu criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's "de-sinification" campaign and said he could not identify with the removal of relics from dictator Chiang Kai-shek's (蔣介石) regime.

The envoy also said he was ending his 35-year career as a public servant because he could not agree with President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) policies.

Huang said that Hu has served as representative to Germany and Singapore for a total of six years and that it was normal for Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials to be transferred periodically.

"But before Hu finishes the required procedure for leaving his position, he is still Taiwan's representative to Singapore as long as he is there," Huang said. "It was quite inappropriate for Hu to make such remarks in his capacity as representative to Singapore. He set a bad example to all public servants."

Huang made the remarks after presiding over the swearing-in ceremony for several new envoys.

The new representative to Canada, David Lee (李大維), and the representative to India, Andrew Hsia (夏立言), both declined to comment on Hu's remarks.

Earlier yesterday, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Tzu-pao (楊子葆) said he had talked to Hu by telephone and the latter told him that he had not offered opinions about government polices but simply responded to the reporter's questions.

Huang said that if Hu believed he was misquoted, he should have submitted a complete explanation to the ministry.

Instead, Hu continued to discuss his views with the media, which had not only failed to clarify any misunderstanding but also caused more controversy," Huang said.

Asked whether Hu would be punished over the incident, Huang said the ministry would handle the case based on what the conclusions of its personnel evaluation committee.

Hu returned to Taipei late last night. As of press time, he had not responded to his critics.

Meanwhile, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) expressed regret yesterday afternoon over Hu's comments, saying that civil servants must maintain neutrality.

"Civil servants must realize that their job is to serve the country, not a particular party," she said. "They must learn to adjust in a democracy where the change of government is a norm."

It would be Hu's problem if he could not adjust to this, Lu said, adding that Huang was an outstanding diplomat cultivated by the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.

Lu said the KMT had nurtured many talented diplomats during its 50-year rule and she believed it would take a while for the nation's diplomats to adjust to changes in the government.

Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling

Also see story:
Editorial: Teach this `diplomat' a lesson

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