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.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS