The government has violated civil liberties by revoking the residency permit of a China-born influencer for voicing support for Beijing to take over Taiwan by force, a group of academics said in a joint statement yesterday.
Academia Sinica member Chen Pei-jer (陳培哲), a medical scientist engaged in Taiwan’s vaccine research during the COVID-19 pandemic, was among the 75 academics who issued the statement.
The influencer, Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), better known by her social media handle “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣), left for China on Tuesday hours before the government could execute the deportation order.
Photo: CNA
President William Lai (賴清德) is “rapidly compressing the space for free speech,” the academics said.
Left Party Secretary-General Huang Te-pei (黃德北), who cosigned the statement, accused the government of limiting cross-strait exchanges and questioned Lai’s proposal to reinstate military tribunals.
The Lai administration has made constant appeals to populism — including demonizing China, branding domestic critics as communists and sowing division in society — to cement its voters’ support, the statement said.
Liu’s deportation by fiat was an abuse of executive power and contradicted the administration’s self-proclaimed support of human rights, it said.
Society’s silent acquiescence was key to the rise of Nazi Germany, it said, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government should “halt at the brink of the abyss.”
In response, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said Taiwan is a democracy and the administration supports the right to express different opinions.
That freedom does not protect speech inciting hatred or violence, which Liu had by advocating China to invade Taiwan, she said, citing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Deputy Minister of Justice Hsu Hsi-hsiang (徐錫祥) said that under the Act Governing the Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), Chinese residents in Taiwan cannot engage in activities that compromise national security or social stability.
The Cabinet is considering amendments to the Criminal Code or introducing new legislation to deal with cases such as Liu’s, he told reporters from the sidelines of a legislative session.
Meanwhile, Chinese National Party (KMT) spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智?) voiced support for the academics, saying pro-DPP academics have joined Chen in protesting the deportation.
The party is concerned that the academics could be subject to cyberbullying or legal persecution, she said.
Separately, the Taipei High Administrative Court dismissed Liu’s lawsuit against the National Immigration Agency, saying that the case had no merit as the veracity of her comments was not in dispute.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS