Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 6 Oct 1995
Taiwanese health officials earlier this week had barred Johnson from entering the country because he has the AIDS virus, but Johnson's agent, Lon Rosen, said there were "mixed signals" because Johnson "(had) an official invitation from the president of Taiwan to visit with him there."
"The president of Taiwan issued a statement last night in Taiwan saying Magic and his team are welcome," Rosen said Thursday. "We've gotten confirmation that makes it clear Magic and his team are welcome. The president has also invited Magic for a private meeting."
But early Friday, President Lee Teng-hui's office denied such an invitation had been extended and said there were no plans for the two to meet.
The former Lakers great and his team of former NBA stars were to have arrived Oct. 30 to play two exhibition games against Taiwan's Hung Fu Rams basketball team.
But Chang Po-ya, director general of the Department of Health, barred Johnson because Taiwanese laws prevent people who have significant contagious diseases, including AIDS, from visiting Taiwan.
Hung Fu owner Chen Cheng-chung denounced the government's move, saying Johnson should have been welcomed because he would have used the visit to spread AIDS awareness on the island.
Johnson's team of former NBA stars has a 50-0 record against international opponents the past two years.
Johnson retired shortly before the 1991-92 NBA season after announcing he was HIV positive. Since then he has been a spokesman for those fighting the disease.
"This is a learning experience," Rosen said of the response in some nations to people with the AIDS virus. "We had the same type of thing happen in Indonesia, and the government later apologized."
Johnson's team will play an exhibition game in the Philippines on Oct. 28 against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-star team before it was to travel to Taiwan.
Copyright 1995/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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Copyright © 1995 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
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