China journalist at center of talk show controversy receives Taiwan entry ban

Taipei, Jan. 24 (CNA) A Chinese journalist who sparked controversy with comments about a disabled Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative candidate on an online talk show has been banned from Taiwan, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said Wednesday.

In a statement, the NIA said that Wang Zhian (王志安) had breached the terms of his tourism visa by appearing on "The Night Night Show with Hello."

The NIA said it had therefore revoked Wang's entry permit and banned him from entering Taiwan for tourism purposes for five years.

The NIA said mainlanders who visit Taiwan should apply for an entry permit according to their purpose of visit, and cannot participate in activities that do not correspond with the purpose stated on their permit.

Wang -- a former China Central Television journalist who has lived in Japan since being blacklisted by Beijing -- has reportedly already left Taiwan.

On an episode of the "The Night Night Show with Hello" that aired Monday, Wang said the DPP had used disabled legislative candidate Chen Chun-han (陳俊翰) as a prop at a pre-election rally to gain sympathy from voters.

"Taiwan's elections are a circus -- [first] you have the singers, then they wheel out this disabled guy … as the whole show reaches a crescendo, the disabled guy says: 'I back the DPP!'"

Wang drew criticism both for imitating Chen's voice and for using a term for disabled people considered derogatory in Taiwan.

A producer for the "The Night Night Show with Hello" show apologized in the comment section on YouTube Tuesday and said the production team would handle the show's content more carefully in the future.