The question of whether the government should ban a Japanese cartoonist from visiting the country appeared to be a tough question yesterday for Minister of the Interior Chang Po-ya (
Fielding questions from law-makers on the legislature's Organic Law Committee, Chang indicated that the ad hoc panel, which proposed on Friday to list Yoshinori Kobayashi, author of the comic book On Taiwan (臺灣論), as persona non grata, would reconvene at a later date to reconsider the case.
However, such a meeting would not come in time for the author's originally scheduled arrival date of March 8.
"The committee will reconvene in a week or two," said Chang, whose ministry has come under heavy fire from the press for its intention to deny Kobayashi entry to the country.
The minister maintained that the recommendation to block Kobayashi's visit was prompted by concerns for his personal safety rather than displeasure over the contents of his book.
Chang promised to take human rights into consideration before handing down a final decision. She denied that the softened stance had anything to do with the protests of Alice King (金美齡), a Tokyo-based national policy adviser.
King returned to Taipei on Sunday and held a news conference to fault the interior and foreign ministries for jumping on the bandwagon to attack Kobayashi. A former dissident, who was herself blacklisted between 1961 and 1992, King was so vexed at the action that she called on both ministers to step down and for the government issue a formal apology to Kobayashi.
However, the government said it would not apologize to Kobayashi.
"The government is not at all sorry about the way it has handled the controversy," said Chen Che-nan (
"Whatever King says reflect merely her personal opinions," he added.
Speaking with the press yesterday, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
"In consideration of human rights and the reputation of the nation, I believe Chang [Po-ya] will handle the matter properly," the premier said.
The interior minister held that by reassessing the ban, she was acting on the instruction of the premier.
Contending that she was not on the 11-member board herself, Chang Po-ya denied prior knowledge of its earlier ruling. She would not name the committee, except by saying that it consisted of experts from both the public and private sectors.
Opposition pro-China lawmakers continued yesterday to fan the flames of the controversy. KMT lawmaker Liu Kuang-hau (
"We cannot not help but question their loyalty in light of their statements," Liu said.
Taking a step further, his New Party colleague Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國) suggested removing both posts from the government payroll. A senior presidential adviser and a national policy adviser get a monthly salary of NT$190,000 and NT$170,000, respectively.
"Rarely consulted, they cannot provide the president with sound advice," Feng said.
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