Former Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs director Ye Xiaowen (葉小文) applied to enter Taiwan on the pretext of offering his condolences over the death of Buddhist master Hsing Yun (星雲法師). Ye’s application was rejected by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), a decision applauded by a group of lawyers representing the Falun Gong.
The government’s move to bar Ye from visiting Taiwan is “absolutely legitimate and reasonable,” as Ye has been involved in genocide and “crimes against humanity,” the group said in a statement.
Denying Ye entry is in accordance with the nation’s democratic policy of upholding human rights, the statement said.
The council’s decision prevented a situation that could have turned into an international legal and political incident.
On Jan. 19, 2005, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong released a list of Chinese Communist Party officials and its network of enforcers: Ye was one of them.
The organization said that the US’ Anti-Atrocity Alien Deportation Act states that the names of these criminals are to be submitted to the customs and immigration offices of all countries.
Under international law, the crimes against humanity and religious persecution committed by Ye fall under the principle of universal jurisdiction. In other words, all democratic countries and their national courts should exercise the authority to investigate and prosecute Ye’s “crimes against humanity.”
Although Taiwan did not cite the principle of universal jurisdiction to scrutinize Ye’s case, prosecutors can and should investigate crimes against humanity and religious persecution, as required by the Convention on the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (殘害人群治罪條例).
People involved in genocide, defined in Article 2 of the convention as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,” are to be sentenced to death, life imprisonment or more than seven years in prison. Ye’s “crimes against humanity” are considered a capital felony. Hence, should he enter Taiwan, he would be arrested and prosecuted.
It is fortunate that the MAC discovered Ye’s intention to visit Taiwan and barred him from doing so. The council prevented the nation from a major dilemma of tracking down criminals while dealing with international political problems.
Huang Di-ying is an attorney.
Translated by Liu Yi-hung
Congratulations to China’s working class — they have officially entered the “Livestock Feed 2.0” era. While others are still researching how to achieve healthy and balanced diets, China has already evolved to the point where it does not matter whether you are actually eating food, as long as you can swallow it. There is no need for cooking, chewing or making decisions — just tear open a package, add some hot water and in a short three minutes you have something that can keep you alive for at least another six hours. This is not science fiction — it is reality.
A foreign colleague of mine asked me recently, “What is a safe distance from potential People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force’s (PLARF) Taiwan targets?” This article will answer this question and help people living in Taiwan have a deeper understanding of the threat. Why is it important to understand PLA/PLARF targeting strategy? According to RAND analysis, the PLA’s “systems destruction warfare” focuses on crippling an adversary’s operational system by targeting its networks, especially leadership, command and control (C2) nodes, sensors, and information hubs. Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, noted in his 15 May 2025 Sedona Forum keynote speech that, as
In a world increasingly defined by unpredictability, two actors stand out as islands of stability: Europe and Taiwan. One, a sprawling union of democracies, but under immense pressure, grappling with a geopolitical reality it was not originally designed for. The other, a vibrant, resilient democracy thriving as a technological global leader, but living under a growing existential threat. In response to rising uncertainties, they are both seeking resilience and learning to better position themselves. It is now time they recognize each other not just as partners of convenience, but as strategic and indispensable lifelines. The US, long seen as the anchor
Kinmen County’s political geography is provocative in and of itself. A pair of islets running up abreast the Chinese mainland, just 20 minutes by ferry from the Chinese city of Xiamen, Kinmen remains under the Taiwanese government’s control, after China’s failed invasion attempt in 1949. The provocative nature of Kinmen’s existence, along with the Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou City, has led to no shortage of outrageous takes and analyses in foreign media either fearmongering of a Chinese invasion or using these accidents of history to somehow understand Taiwan. Every few months a foreign reporter goes to
RSS