Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said yesterday the government would give the public an explanation by Monday on a recent uproar stirred by a set of articles defaming Taiwan and Taiwanese people allegedly written by a diplomat in Canada.
Liu made the remarks during a question-and-answer session in response to inquiries from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yu Tian (余天) and Su Cheng-ching (蘇震清).
INVESTIGATION
The Government Information Office (GIO) is checking to see whether Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英), information division director of Taiwan’s representative office in Toronto, wrote blogs using insulting terms to refer to Taiwan and Taiwanese people, Liu said, adding that the government may ask Kuo to return to Taiwan to account for the matter.
“If [allegations that Kuo is the writer] were true, he would be severely punished … We wouldn’t let him off so easily … I can’t believe that our civil servants would make the remarks,” Liu said.
The allegation was originally made by DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) on Thursday. Kuan said that Kuo wrote the blogs using the pen name Fan Lan-chin (范蘭欽) referring to Taiwanese as taibazi (台巴子, meaning “Taiwanese rednecks”) or wokou (倭寇, meaning “Japanese pirates”).
Yu and Su yesterday said the government should demand that Kuo return the salary he received working in the office.
While agreeing that if the allegations were true, “Kuo would not deserve to serve the country,” Liu said that matters of salary had to be decided according to regulations.
GIO Vice Minister Hsu Chiu-huang (許秋煌) said on Thursday that according to Kuo, he and “a group of friends” had shared the pen name.
Later yesterday, GIO Minister Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said the office had decided to ask Kuo to come back to Taiwan and report on the matter.
A number of articles under the name Fan Lan-chih were posted on a Web Site called Mass-age.
DENIAL
Kuo told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) in a phone call yesterday that he was not Fan Lan-chin.
Kuo also denied saying that he shared the pen name with a group of friends. He said that after people speculated that Fan Lan-chin was his pen name, he inquired into what kind of Web site Mass-age.com was. Kuo said that when Hsu asked him about the blogs, he only told Hsu that Mass-age.com was used by a group of people, adding that he had no idea how his remarks were misinterpreted to imply that he and a group of friends used the pen name.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TSENG WEI-CHEN
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
RSS