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Top KMT figure targets Control Yuan over Kuo

A senior Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) official yesterday called on the Control Yuan to explain why it did not impeach a former Government Information Office (GIO) staffer who caused an uproar by writing a number of online articles ridiculing the nation and its people.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said the Control Yuan had to justify its decision because the articles written by Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英), a former GIO official based in Toronto, were controversial.

KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said that the Control Yuan would have to open its decision to public scrutiny, instead of only publicizing the result of a vote among Control Yuan members.

The Control Yuan on Wednesday voted seven to four against Control Yuan member Chien Lin Hui-chun’s (錢林慧君) proposal to impeach Kuo.

Chien Lin initiated an investigation after entries that appeared on Kuo’s blog in March sparked controversy in Taiwan.

Kuo, who had worked for the government for 25 years and had qualified for early retirement, was relieved of his civil servant status by the GIO’s Evaluation and Discipline Committee on March 23 after he admitted writing a series of online articles ridiculing Taiwan and Taiwanese under the pen name Fan Lan-chin (范蘭欽).

The online articles referred to Taiwanese as taibazi (台巴子), meaning “Taiwanese rednecks,” and wokou (倭寇) — “Japanese pirates.”

Kuo also said in one blog entry that “the imposition of martial law had been a benevolent act of the then government” and that China “should spend many years suppressing [people in Taiwan] instead of granting any political freedom once it has taken Taiwan by force.”

The CNA quoted an anonymous Control Yuan member as saying on Wednesday that some members believed it was unnecessary to impeach Kuo after he was given two major demerits and dismissed from his job.

Chien Lin said she would revise her impeachment statement and bring up the motion again.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) responded by calling on the Control Yuan yesterday to reconsider its decision, saying Kuo was guilty of inciting unrest by writing racist and denigrating remarks against Taiwanese.

DPP Legislator Tsai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said Kuo posed the “biggest challenge” to ethnic harmony since the 228 Incident, in which Chinese nationalist forces slaughtered thousands of Taiwanese at the behest of the former KMT government.

Tsai urged the Control Yuan to reconsider its decision.

DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) questioned the legitimacy of the Control Yuan’s supervisory power, saying the government branch was prosecuting pan-green officials while being lenient on their pan-blue counterparts.

“The Control Yuan must pitch the impeachment notion again. If not, the Control Yuan would be viewed as consenting to Kuo’s conduct,” she said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
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