Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Friday pledged to pay more attention to the psychological health of ministry officials, after the nation’s envoy to Osaka committed suicide amid criticism over his office’s assistance to Taiwanese tourists in need.
In an open letter to ministry officials at home and abroad sent on Friday and provided to reporters yesterday, Wu said that he was heartbroken over the passing of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Osaka branch director-general Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠).
“Su left behind his wife and children… I blame myself for the break-up of his family due to work, and the pressure he faced from within and from outside,” Wu wrote in the letter. “I am writing this letter to tell you that the ministry needs to make improvements and should take better care of your physical and psychological health, as well as your family life.”
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Su, who assumed leadership of the Osaka office in July, took his own life early on Friday at his residence in Osaka, Japan, about a week after his office came under fire for a staff member’s alleged refusal last week to help a Taiwanese tourist stranded in Osaka in the wake of Typhoon Jebi find accommodation.
Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK) on Friday reported that a note left by Su suggested that he had been in pain because of overwhelming public criticism over his office’s handling of Taiwanese tourists stranded in the area due to Jebi and the ensuing closure of Osaka’s Kansai International Airport.
Wu said that although diplomacy is Taiwan’s toughest battle, the nation’s diplomats have worked in all corners of the globe to ensure that the 23 million Taiwanese will not be left alone or forgotten by the world.
They often have to work long hours at their offices, answering telephone calls from overseas, writing diplomatic cables and arranging the itineraries of visiting foreign dignitaries, Wu said, adding that they give their best, even though their work is often overlooked, because they know that the nation’s diplomatic work rests on their shoulders.
“When we are faced with challenges from all over the world, we must not forget that the ministry is one big family, and we should show concern and support for each other,” Wu said, calling on ministry officials to stay brave and united as they work toward their common goals.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday wrote on Facebook and Instagram that the burden shouldered by diplomatic personnel is very heavy.
“Their contributions and efforts represent the hope of 23 million people in Taiwan to connect with the international community,” Tsai wrote, adding: “Thank you.”
Additional reporting by CNA
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS