Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英), the former information division acting director at the nation’s representative office in Toronto who on Monday admitted he wrote a number of articles smearing Taiwan and Taiwanese, yesterday revealed that he once handed over confidential papers regarding the assassination of writer Henry Liu (劉宜良) to Liu’s wife.
Liu, a vocal critic of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also known by his pen name Chiang Nan (江南), was assassinated at his home in California in 1984 in what many believe was a political murder. He was most famous for writing an unauthorized biography of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
In an interview with TVBS aired yesterday, Kuo told the story about the Chiang Nan case in a bid to prove that he had been a “patriotic person,” in response to the criticism he has received over the articles written under the pen name Fan Lan-chin (范蘭欽).
Kuo said that he revealed confidential government information to Liu’s family after the murder when he was a Government Information Office (GIO) official stationed in New York.
“What I did at that time betrayed the government … During the authoritarian era, the government killed a man. It should not do that. In terms of administrative ethics, Kuo Kuan-ying violated ethics rules. But in terms of high moral standards, he was patriotic and he did that for the good of the country,” Kuo said in the interview.
Tsui Jung-chih (崔蓉芝), Liu’s widow, later yesterday confirmed Kuo’s remarks when she was contacted by TVBS. Tsui said she was given some information by Kuo after the death of her husband in which she learned how the government planned to deal with her.
In the interview, Kuo said that the Fan Lan-chin incident had forced him to “come out of the closet politically.”
“Over the past 20 years, I have been patriotic while keeping my identity hidden,” he said. “After the [Fan Lan-chin incident], I am forced to be patriotic using my real name.”
Kuo said that his “biggest wish in the remainder of his life was to live in a stable province of Taiwan unified with China.”
The GIO on Monday issued Kuo two demerits and relieved him of his civil servant status for his “inconsistent” explanations to the GIO on whether he was Fan and a series of remarks he made to the media that the GIO considered a “declared defiance of the government.”
Kuo was not disciplined for the articles written under the pen name that smeared Taiwan and Taiwanese.
GIO Personnel Office Director Kuo Cheng-sheng (郭忠聖) said yesterday that whether the freedom of speech of civil servants should be compromised because of their post should be determined by the Judicial Yuan’s Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries and not the GIO.
Kuo Kuan-ying said in the TVBS interview that the GIO had punished him out of “political concerns,” but added that he did not harbor resentment against the GIO for taking disciplinary action against him.
“I didn’t feel that I lost too much [because of the incident]. I lost my pension and my position, but I earned the country a big advantage and earned myself a reputation … This is a reward for me as a Chinese. I do not blame anyone. I am very satisfied,” he said.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
The Tainan District Court has found a teenager guilty of posting a sexually explicit video of his girlfriend on social media without consent. The court ruled his parents were legally responsible for the boy’s actions, and ordered NT$500,000 (US$16,051) to be paid in compensation to the victim. The incident took place in December last year, when the boy and his girlfriend, both under 18 and legally minors at the time of the incident, were in a relationship. The boy asked her to send him explicit videos, according to a court filing. A month later, he posted the video on social media, with its visibility
RSS