Japanese media personality Akio Yaita was attacked by a Hong Kong man in Taichung on July 6, drawing attention from all sectors of Taiwan. Has the CCP’s cross-border repression reached into Taiwan?
Akio Yaita, a prominent veteran media figure in Taiwan, was punched in the face by a Hong Kong man after giving a speech at the Yongfeng Hotel in Taichung on the 6th, leaving him bleeding profusely. According to Taiwanese police investigations, the suspect, Liao Gangfa, has ties to Hong Kong triads and has a history of drug trafficking and sexual assault cases. After committing the crime, he immediately reported "mission successful" via his mobile phone and received instructions to leave Taiwan as quickly as possible. However, he was intercepted and arrested by Taiwanese police at the airport.
The "National Unity Promotion Law," which China implemented on July 1st, contains provisions regarding overseas law enforcement, raising concerns across Taiwan. A spokesperson for Taiwan's Presidential Office stated that this case is the first instance of transnational repression and coercion in Taiwan since the law's implementation.
Although China's Taiwan Affairs Office claimed that the Hong Kong man acted "out of righteous indignation" and that it was an ordinary public order incident, Akio Yaita, who was attacked, believes that the real mastermind behind this "flash mob thug" is hiding behind the scenes.
Akio Yaita: "If this model succeeds in Taiwan, it is very likely to be replicated a second and a third time. Today I am the one being attacked, but tomorrow it could be another media person, scholar, politician, or any ordinary person who dares to express their opinions publicly. Some people say that this is just an ordinary incident of harm. But Hong Kong's experience tells us that freedom of speech does not disappear overnight."
Akio Yaita cited examples such as Hong Kong media figures Cheng King-han, Chan Ping, Jimmy Lai, and Ming Pao editor-in-chief Lau Chun-to, all of whom were attacked for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party. In Taiwan, Hong Kong singer Denise Ho, bookstore owner Lam Wing-kee, and Hong Kong activists visiting a Muay Thai gym in Thongshu were also vandalized with red paint. He believes that silence in the face of violence will only embolden the violence to escalate.
Simon Cheng, who initiated the establishment of the Hong Kong Overseas Chinese Association in London and actively advocates for the rights of Hong Kong people, is wanted by the Hong Kong National Security Law. He believes that if the evidence in this case shows that it is directly related to transnational repression, then it will be a very important warning for Taiwan.
In the UK, for example, in June, a British court convicted two defendants for espionage for China for the first time under the National Security Act of 2023. One of the convicts worked for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. The charges were that they were acting on behalf of Hong Kong, and ultimately China, to monitor pro-democracy dissidents currently residing in the UK. They were sentenced to eight and ten years in prison, respectively. Simon Cheng believes that such a verdict provides a precedent for Taiwan.
Zheng Wenjie: "This is the first case of its kind. So this is a very, very important precedent. It also proves that the British government, the British police, the British investigative agencies, and even the British courts, under the jury system, have sufficient determination to uphold national security and combat cross-border repression."
"Look at this case (in the UK), it didn't reach the level of a direct assault. He might have just said, 'I'm trying to break into a private residence.' There was verbal intimidation, doxing, and possibly gathering information about exiles through various means. He didn't even make any physical contact, yet he's already been sentenced to 8 or 10 years. This is a serious matter."
Experts analyzed that it is noteworthy that when Kuomintang Chairperson Cheng Li-wen visited China, she coined the term "Taiwanese nation," thus linking Taiwan to the so-called National Unity Act.
Political commentator Chen Pokong: "After creating a Taiwanese nation, this Taiwanese nation is considered to be one with the Uyghur, Tibetan, Inner Mongolian, and other ethnic groups. Ultimately, under the slogan of the so-called National Unity Law, it can become an object of dictatorship or a target of so-called purges. So it is under this premise that Taiwan is targeted. Targeting Taiwan is mainly psychological warfare and intimidation."
Besides intimidation, Chen Po-kong and Cheng Wen-chieh both believe that this makes the CCP think that cross-border repression has a legal basis. Because it could potentially harm the sovereignty and dignity of other countries, it should not only raise awareness in Taiwan, but also in the international community as a whole, including the United States and Europe.
