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.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS