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.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS