Chinese-born social media influencer Yaya in Taiwan’s (亞亞在台灣) “reunification” comments contravened not only the law, but what is acceptable in Taiwan as free speech, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today ahead of a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan.
The influencer’s comments, and any similar inflammatory and illegal online statements, would be dealt with under the full force of the law, she added.
The National Immigration Agency yesterday revoked the woman’s dependent-based residence permit after comments she made online about “unifying Taiwan using military force.”
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The Chinese-born influencer, surnamed Liu (劉), is married to a Taiwanese national.
The agency said it received reports that Liu made the statements on her online account "Yaya in Taiwan,” which has nearly 400,000 followers on the Chinese social media platform Douyin.
Her comments made in a self-recorded video were reported under suspicion of promoting “united front” tactics and she was brought in for questioning by the agency.
It decided to revoke her permit according to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and Article 14 of the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法).
Liu would be scheduled for deportation after a grace period granted to put her affairs in order, sources said, while the agency said she would not be allowed to reapply for a dependent-based residence permit for five years.
As all Taiwanese know, freedom of speech is not a god-given right, nor an excuse to promote ideas of unifying Taiwan by force or military intimidation of Taiwan, Liu Shyh-fang said today.
The Legislative Yuan is currently discussing a bill to shorten the waiting period for Chinese nationals with Taiwanese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship from six years to four.
The bill is still under consideration and the Ministry of Interior has advised legislators to exercise caution due to the increased risk posed by geopolitical tensions and the current state of cross-strait relations, Liu Shyh-fang said.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS