愛中？愛台？Envoy's double life stirs furor 郭冠英自打嘴巴

愛中？愛台？郭冠英自打嘴巴
自由時報 2009-03-26 06:00

對外國人說最效忠的是台灣

［本報駐加特派記者張伶銖／溫哥華廿四日報導］前新聞局駐加拿大多倫多新聞組長郭冠英上周五（廿日）當天為他自己並無曠職辯護時說，「我是主任（即組長），辦公室已無比我更高層的人，我在外麵拜訪傳媒，怎麽算曠職？」現在答案揭曉，原來上周五他一邊應付新聞局對有無到班查詢的同時，還接受了加拿大英文報紙 Toronto Star的專訪，專訪刊登在廿四日Toronto Star時，郭冠英已經被拔去外交官的頭銜。

加國媒體稱他雙麵外交官

Toronto Star以「雙麵外交官觸發眾怒」（Envoy’s double life stirs furor）作標題，郭冠英當時已做好承認他就是範蘭欽的準備，郭冠英說，「不管後果如何，我還是會告訴政府我就是範蘭欽」，郭冠英表示，「很重要的是，人們可以不同意我說的話，但我卻有機會說我的心裏想法」，郭冠英還說，「我的言論自由正被攻擊。」

專訪引述郭冠英所說的其他內容，其實不出郭冠英之前知道自己被免職後的反應，諷刺的是，在英文專訪時，寫到郭冠英說「我第一效忠的是台灣」（my first allegiance is to Taiwan），而且「這是一個我愛的國家，希望還有機會在這個真正可愛的地方居住」（this is a country I really love, and I hope I have not lost my chance to live in a truly lovely place），均是以台灣來指郭冠英來自的國家，與郭冠英之前強調「台灣沒有主權」的說法，有不同調的地方。

郭冠英是在去年九月才被調往多倫多，他的妻子上月才搬到多倫多與他同住，至於他的兒子則住在溫哥華。

搏版麵功夫 台僑嘖嘖稱奇

郭冠英的專訪上了Toronto Star，再度成為加拿大台僑社區焦點話題，對於郭冠英總是能想盡各種辦法搶攻中英文版麵，大家都感到嘖嘖稱奇。


Envoy's double life stirs furor
http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/607157

Taiwan orders home chief spokesperson in Toronto after he called countrymen 'rednecks, primitives'
Mar 24, 2009 04:30 AM

Tony Wong
STAFF REPORTER

For months, Kuo Kuan-ying has been leading something of a double life. As a senior diplomat based in Canada, he has been the chief spokesperson for the Taiwanese government in Toronto.

But in his off-hours the gregarious ex-journalist has been penning controversial columns on the Internet that have made him the target of protests and death threats after some legislators in Taipei accused him of defaming his country.

Yesterday, Kuo was suspended from his job as director of the information division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office and called back to Taiwan after he admitted in a television interview that aired in Asia yesterday that he was the author of articles that had stirred outrage in Taipei for calling the country's majority population "rednecks" and "primitives."

In an interview with the Star in Toronto last Friday, Kuo staunchly defended his position.

"It is really a ridiculous situation that has gotten out of control," he said. "They are attacking my freedom of speech instead of defending it."

Kuo said "despite the consequences" he intended to tell authorities he was indeed Fan Lan-chin, the author of articles that have been published in newspapers and on the Internet in a blog.

"I think it is important that even if people disagree with what I say, that I have the opportunity to say what I feel," said Kuo, a well-known figure in Toronto's Chinese community. The diplomat and former journalist with the United Daily News has been leading the newscasts in his homeland, as reporters tried to determine if he was the infamous Fan Lan-chin.

Hours after the newscast, Taiwanese government information officer Su Chun-pin said a panel had determined Kuo had "damaged" Taiwan's image overseas by making controversial remarks.

In Toronto, Kuo said he was asked not to report to work at his Yonge and Richmond Sts. office over the last few weeks because it might constitute a security threat.

He has been in Canada since September and was joined by his wife last month. His son lives in Vancouver.

Fearing for the safety of his family in Taiwan, he says he has been asked if he would consider political asylum in Canada.

"My first allegiance is to Taiwan," he says. "But this is a country I really love, and I hope I have not lost my chance to live in a truly lovely place."

Kuo wrote a column for the Taipei United Daily News last month stating there were probably only a thousand people killed in the historic 228 Massacre of 1947. The article effectively made him a holocaust denier in the eyes of many Taiwanese.

The 228 incident (referring to Feb. 28, 1947) was an anti-government uprising that was suppressed by the Kuomintang rulers with estimates ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 dead.

Kuo argues, among other things, that since only a few hundred came forward to claim sizable reparations, there couldn't be that many victims.

In another article, Kuo allegedly advocated the use of military force by China if necessary to take control of Taiwan.

Beijing has always claimed Taiwan as a province of China.

He says because he wrote the articles under a pen name, they should be permissible under free speech. "I did not write as the official government view," he says.

His superiors disagreed this week, with Su stressing that government officials are not allowed to make derogatory remarks under the pretext of freedom of speech.

所有跟帖： 

• he did nothing illegal but persecuted by fanatics -笑看阿Q找台階- ♀ (0 bytes) () 03/25/2009 postreply 22:20:26