The National Immigration Agency (NIA) yesterday deported a Japanese man for saying “Taiwan belongs to China” in a TikTok video filmed in Taipei.
The video, which the agency said was filmed on Monday last week, was uploaded on Friday by a man calling himself Aira Todomi.
In the video, Todomi and another social media influencer, a 42-year-old man who called himself Hiroyuki Tanaka, held the flag of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the rainbow crosswalk in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area.
Photo: screen grab from a video posted by Threads user @gawain0512
“Taiwan belongs to China,” Tanaka says in the video.
The NIA said the video contravened Article 18 of the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), which states that the agency would “prohibit an alien from entering the State” if they are “believed to endanger national interests, public security, public order, or the good customs of the State.”
The agency did not specify how the video met those thresholds, although it said the two people’s comments were inappropriate.
The NIA said it deported Tanaka yesterday morning and has banned him from re-entering Taiwan.
Todomi, who left Taiwan immediately after filming the video, has been banned from re-entering the country, the agency said.
Tanaka might have stayed in Taiwan after filming the video due to his marital status, as he had said in TikTok videos that he is married to a Taiwanese.
Tanaka also admitted to participating in the video to boost his online presence and fan base in China, the agency said
The content creators entered Taiwan through the mutual visa-free program between Taiwan and Japan, it said.
Aside from displaying the PRC flag, Todomi and Tanaka said in the video that they were Japanese who deeply love China.
Speaking Japanese and Mandarin, Todomi said that they would love to see China and Japan continue their friendly relationship, adding that whatever problem Taiwan has with China should be dealt with between the two sides.
Tanaka, who spoke less and appeared less fluent in Mandarin, echoed Todomi’s sentiments and uttered the remark that got him into trouble.
The men then parted ways, leaving Todomi alone to continue the video, which included a segment of him singing in front of Taipei Main Station with Chinese and Japanese flags draped over the steps leading to the station’s south entrance.
While he claimed he was Japanese, Todomi has also said he is Chinese in a number of TikTok videos.
The Ximending video generated a backlash online, with Taiwanese — including YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝), also known as Pa Chiung (八炯) — saying they reported the video and its content creators to the NIA.
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