Kuo’s articles discriminatory, Ma says
　

PROMOTING HARMONY: President Ma Ying-jeou called for an end to the uproar over Kuo Kuan-ying’s writings, but said that no one could hide behind freedom of speech

By Ko Shu-ling AND Flora Wang
STAFF REPORTERS
Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009, Page 1

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday condemned a Government Information Office (GIO) official whose online articles smeared Taiwan and Taiwanese, breaking his silence on the controversy to say Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英) was unfit for office.

Describing Kuo’s articles as “unquestionably extreme and discriminatory,” Ma said that “as a civil servant, he made inconsistent remarks, lied to his supervisors and neglected his duties.

“He is undoubtedly unfit for his job. The GIO deserves recognition for handling the matter in a quick and appropriate manner,” Ma said while meeting members of the Air Force Elementary School Alumni Association residing in the US and Canada, at the Presidential Office.

Kuo, the former acting director of the information division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Toronto, had initially denied writing a number of articles insulting Taiwan and Taiwanese under the pen name Fan Lan-chin (范蘭欽) when he was summoned back to Taiwan last week.

But in an interview with cable station CTI-TV on Monday he admitted he was Fan.

Kuo defended himself, saying that “one has the right to tell lies in the face of enemies.”

After the interview aired, the GIO gave Kuo two major demerits and stripped him of his official status because he had “committed an indiscretion that seriously damaged the reputation of civil servants and the government, based on Article 12 of the Civil Service Performance Evaluation Act (公務人員考績法).”

Emphasizing that he had made vigorous efforts to safeguard freedom of speech, Ma said that when he was Taipei mayor, he made the city “the freest place in the world” where people could protest 24 hours a day.

Ma said that although he respected freedom of speech, the right was not absolute.

“If someone incites ethnic confrontation and harms people’s feelings, such a freedom cannot be tolerated and must be condemned,” he said. “Nobody can hide under the umbrella of freedom of speech and engage in improper acts or instigate ethnic conflict.”

Ma said that he hoped the GIO’s decision would end the Kuo controversy. He also urged the public to seize the opportunity and raise the country to a new level.

“Let’s begin today and work toward ethnic and social harmony, and peace in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “Let’s work together so the Chinese people can pursue progress and world peace in an amicable atmosphere.”

Ma then launched into a paean to Chinese culture and heritage, saying Taiwan had brought forth the new culture based on the old Chinese one, which had been made possible by more than one individual or ethnic group.

Only love and respect could resolve ethnic problems, he said, adding that government leaders are duty bound to promise the public a future that is conflict-free and harmonious, he said.

Since the Republic of China government relocated from China 60 years ago, Ma said the Taiwanese have worked together to create economic and democratic miracles.

“Together, we have created the most valuable experience of the descendants of the Yen and Yellow emperors,” he said. “This is our only country and homeland. We are one family and it is unnecessary to arouse sensitive issues and create confrontation.”

Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) dismissed speculation that Ma’s remarks were an attempt at damage control ahead of Saturday’s legislative by-election in Taipei’s Da-an District (大安).

“It had nothing to do with the election,” Wang said. “It was purely for ethnic harmony.”

Wang denounced politicians who sought to use the Kuo incident to manipulate ethnic issues.

During a question-and-answer session on the legislative floor yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) criticized Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) for being too slow to condemn Kuo’s racist articles.

Liu said the government had handled the incident in accordance with the law.

“Before Kuo admitted that he was Fan, there was due process to be completed,” Liu said.

Kuan responded: “You already knew he [Kuo] was Fan. If he still refused to admit it, would you be stalling the process today?”

Liu then accused Kuan of trying to smear him, which led Kuan to accuse Liu of covering up for a racist.

Liu vowed to maintain ethnic harmony.

“Taiwan is a society composed of multiple ethnic communities. Historically, different ethnic groups arrived at this beautiful island at different times,” Liu said. “Everyone works hard, makes contributions and lives here, so this is home to everyone ... we will not tolerate extreme remarks that incite ethnic conflict.”

The two major demerits will cost Kuo his pension, earned over 25 years, unless the Civil Service Protection and Training Commission reverses the decision.

Liu said the GIO’s decision was “appropriate.”

Meanwhile, GIO Minister Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) rebutted media speculation that his agency’s decision to fire Kuo had been politically motivated.

“We take the evaluation of government officials very seriously. We carefully followed the necessary procedures and did not have any [outside] concerns in mind,” Su said. “We did not make the decision because we were under political pressure ... we dealt with everything according to the law.”

“Many people” had tried to turn Kuo’s matter into an ethnic or political issue, Su said. “Those who have done so do not cherish the nation and are insensitive to ethnic issues.”

GIO Personnel Office director Kuo Cheng-sheng (郭忠聖) said the documents stripping Kuo Kuan-ying of his civil servant status had been mailed to him yesterday.

He said Kuo Kuan-ying had to hand in his “G series” official passport by the end of the month.

The “G series” passport is one of the three official passports issued to diplomats that are recognized by countries without diplomatic relationships with Taiwan.

In other developments, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) urged politicians to stop trying to make political capital out of the Kuo case.

DPP Legislator Gao Jhy-peng (高志鵬) told a separate press conference that the DPP caucus had learned that Taiwanese expatriates in Canada were planning to sue Kuo Kuan-ying over his remarks.

He could face more trouble at home. DPP Legislator Huang Shu-ying (黃淑英) said she would appeal to the Ministry of Interior, accusing Kuo Kuan-ying of violating Article 62 of the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), which stipulates that “no one can discriminate against others who live in the Taiwan area based on nationality, ethnicity, skin color, social status and birthplace.”

Commenting on Kuo Kuan-ying’s claim that his articles were protected by freedom of speech, former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) said yesterday that freedom of speech should not provide a haven for hatred. His articles were defamatory and should not be confused with freedom of speech, she said.

Yeh’s husband, Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), died 20 years ago after immolating himself to defend “100 percent freedom of expression.”

KMT government murdered Henry Liu, Kuo says
　

HIGH MORAL STANDARDS?: Kuo Kuan-ying said that he was a patriotic person and that he passed confidential information to Liu's wife after he was assassinated

By Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009, Page 3

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.
　

Faleomavaega: no friend of Taiwan

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009, Page 8

On Thursday, US Representative Eni Faleomavaega was again a wrench in the US’ efforts to support Taiwan — this time ahead of the 30th anniversary of the most important piece of US legislation concerning Taiwan, the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).

The congressman’s actions are a disappointment coming from a person who has heaped praise on Taiwan’s democracy and human rights record and accused US politicians of cowering in the face of Beijing on the issue of Taiwan.

Faleomavaega no longer seems to be in a position to point fingers. At a meeting of the House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment to discuss a resolution saluting three decades since the TRA was enacted, he pushed through key changes that watered down the text. Faleomavaega, of American Samoa, is chairman of the subcommittee.

It was not the first time his actions have belied his professed stance on Taiwan and the spirit of the TRA.

The resolution amended last week was proposed by 18 representatives voicing staunch support for the content of the TRA and for Taiwan, but Faleomavaega took issue with the strength of the wording, making changes that would attempt to weaken application of the TRA.

On top of this, he brazenly claimed the altered text was “better for the people of Taiwan.”

While the resolution originally called the TRA the “cornerstone” of US-Taiwan relations, it now calls the act “vital.” That is a change that should hearten Beijing, which wants to see the US gradually shift from relying on the TRA in deciding matters concerning Taiwan.

More good news for Beijing were the changes Faleomavaega made to soften the statement on providing arms of a defensive nature to Taiwan and a sentence praising Taiwan’s trade ties with the US that had been intended to pave the way for free trade.

As at other times when he has countered Taiwan supporters in Congress, it is unclear what Faleomavaega’s motive was on Thursday, but it was certainly not love for Taiwanese.

On whether he was pressured to propose the changes, Faleomavaega said only that there was pressure “from both sides.”

But when he opposed wording in a separate resolution on Taiwan that passed the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in February last year and the full House in March, he told the Taipei Times he was concerned about the potential negative effects on US-Taiwan ties.

Faleomavaega struck the sentence “Taiwan’s young democracy faces constant military threat and intimidation from neighboring China” from that resolution, which praised Taiwan’s democratization.

His statement to fellow lawmakers that he had visited Taiwan during election season and had seen “no intimidation from the People’s Republic of China” can only be described as ludicrous. It was a poor effort on his part to turn a blind eye to China’s constant shenanigans, not to mention its missile arsenal.

Last March, Faleomavaega even said that the US should not support Taiwan’s referendums on bidding for UN membership because of the US’ “position on one country, two systems.” This revealed shocking ignorance of the US stance on Taiwan from someone who is in a position to frustrate House efforts such as the TRA anniversary resolution. More disturbingly, it sounded like the rambling of an official from Beijing.

Preparing for an attack from China
　

By Lee Wen-Chung 李文忠
Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009, Page 8

Though cross-strait tensions have diminished slightly, China has never given up the threat of using force against Taiwan, nor has it relaxed its military preparations. Since 2007, the military imbalance in the Taiwan Strait has increased. It is forecast that by 2020, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will be able to send its forces to the area between the first and second island chains and decisively engage Taiwan in large-scale warfare with victory assured.

In the past, the government invested in expensive modern weapons systems to maintain air superiority and sea control as well as command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems and information and electronic warfare systems in the hope that the country would be able to defend itself after a first strike from China. However, Taiwan’s weapons have become less competitive.

If the country were attacked by China, its combat capabilities would gradually deteriorate and China would then invade with modern weapons and massive numbers of lower-quality aircraft, warships and artillery.

Taiwan would not be able to respond. If the government were to focus on shore and trench warfare, it would lower the willingness of democratic allies to extend support. Taiwan would quickly lose air supremacy and control of the sea, public morale could collapse and the war would be fought on Taiwan proper.

Not only should the government strive to upgrade its modern aircraft, warship, anti-ballistic missiles and C4ISR systems, but its core combat capabilities should also be based on sustainable and asymmetric warfare. Its land, sea and air forces, missiles and information and electronic warfare must have strong resistance capabilities and be equipped with multi-layered offensive and defensive capabilities to expand surveillance, early warning, offensive and defensive capabilities.

The government should develop pre-emptive capabilities for conducting information and electronic warfare, anti-ballistic missiles, counter-landing shore warfare capabilities and sustainable capabilities to defend the capital — that is, “strategic defense and tactical offense” and “strategic sustainability and tactical speed.”

Taiwan is strong in the information and electronics industry, so it should be possible to build adequate pre-emptive information and electronic warfare capabilities. Now that the modernized PLA is relying heavily on information and electronic equipment with the rapidly growing economy along the southeastern coast of China, Taiwan could emulate the enemy and employ “soft-kill” measures to paralyze, interfere with, extinguish and confuse their financial, communication, electronic and power systems in major cities.

Taiwan should develop tactical long-range missiles with high accuracy so that China will have to increase its investment in homeland defense at normal times and thus slow down development of its offensive capabilities. Chinese threats against Taiwan would then be indirectly alleviated. During wartime, Taiwan could adopt tactics to suppress and diminish the strength of the PLA both tangibly and intangibly.

China’s plan to invade Taiwan could be thwarted, the sending of reinforcements could be delayed and warfare coordination could be damaged. The pressure on Taiwan to defend itself on its own soil would thus be alleviated.

In so doing, the government should produce and deploy large numbers of surface-to-surface cruise missiles with a range of 600km, Hsiung Feng III Supersonic Anti-ship Missiles as well as anti-radiation and standoff missiles. In the middle and long term, the government should actively develop ballistic missiles and ground-to-ground cruise missiles with a range of 1,000km and request that the US provide the country with explosive and anti-radiation missiles.

If the PLA attacked Taiwan, it would have to launch a large-scale amphibious invasion before the war could end. As the combat capabilities of Chinese troops are the weakest prior to landing operations, the government should not only integrate C4ISR systems with early warning abilities but also plan on building land-based cruise missiles, multiple launch rockets, electronic mortars and small submarines suitable for use in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan should also develop abilities to destroy harbors and rapidly deploy torpedo mines as well as purchase general and offensive helicopters.

If China attacked Taiwan, it is unlikely that it would be able to occupy the entire island. But it would have to destroy and occupy the capital and places of strategic importance and take over the media before the war could end. Therefore, the country’s military should place importance on the protection of political and economic targets and ensure the safety of the capital by establishing a capital garrison command directly under the General Staff Headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense, and once again clarify the scope of the garrison and troop deployments.

Lee Wen-chung is a former Democratic Progressive Party legislator and a standing committee member of the Institute for Taiwan Defense and Strategic Studies.