"Reverse the Banning Order"

Lung-chu Chen

The Department of the Interior decided on March 5th to bar Japanese cartoonist Yoshinori Kobayashi from entering Taiwan. The decision was based on the ground that Kobayashi's controversial book, "On Taiwan," especially concerning Taiwan's "comfort women," was damaging to Taiwan's "international image" and "national interests."

What is really damaging to Taiwan is this decision to ban the author's entry, not the book itself. The world is watching closely whether freedom and democracy here in Taiwan are for real or not. The government should immediately reverse this decision.

Thanks to the freedom fighters, both at home and abroad, during the past several decades, Taiwan has transformed itself from an authoritarian state under martial law into a free, democratic country. In its 2000 Annual Report, the Freedom House in the United States classified the more than 190 countries in the world into seven categories in terms of the degree of freedom; Taiwan was for the first time listed in the first category, among "the freest countries." Now, overnight, the government is resorting to the tactics of "blacklisting." This is a giant step backward in Taiwan's democratic journey.

As the new government is committed to the protection of human rights, it should measure up to international human rights standards, not to retreat from them. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, commonly regarded as customary international law binding all states and governments, has firmly guaranteed the freedom of expression. Article 19 states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

As Voltaire said, "I oppose your idea, but I'll fight to the death to defend your freedom to express your opinion." The comic book "On Taiwan" should be subjected to the test of "the free market of ideas," not to the undue interference by the government. We urge the Taiwanese government to rescind immediately its decision to bar the entry of Kobayashi. It requires constant vigilance to keep the freedom of expression.