A Chinese online influencer was forced to leave Taiwan after authorities revoked her visa, citing videos she had made that called for a military takeover of the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing.
Her departure—and the expected removal of two other pro-Beijing influencers—comes as Taiwan adopts a tougher stance amid ongoing pressure from China, but the expulsion is a test for a government that has championed liberal democratic values including freedom of expression.
Why It Matters
Beijing’s Chinese Communist Party claims Taiwan as its territory, despite never having governed it, and has vowed to “unify” it, through force if necessary. In recent years, the East Asian power has intensified its pressure campaign, including through military intimidation and disinformation aimed at undermining the self-ruled island.
Taiwan has also faced a series of spying cases within its military ranks. Earlier this month, President Lai Ching-te labeled China a “foreign hostile force” and announced a controversial plan to bring back a military trial system, something not seen since Taiwan emerged from decades of martial law in the late 1980s.
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment from Newsweek.
What to Know
Liu Zhenya, who operates the account “Yaya in Taiwan” on Douyin—the Chinese-language equivalent of short video app TikTok, where she has nearly 400,000 followers—departed from Taipei Songshan Airport on Wednesday evening on a flight to the Chinese city of Fuzhou, leaving behind her Taiwanese husband and three children.
Authorities acted after receiving reports that she had publicly called for military unification with China, and following a review of her content determined Liu had violated regulations governing Chinese nationals residing on the island.
Liu has rejected the allegations, claiming she was merely commenting on major military drills conducted by China’s People’s Liberation Army last May.
Those exercises, which involved air, land and sea-based forces, effectively encircled Taiwan in a show of displeasure over the inauguration of Lai, who was dubbed a “destroyer of peace” by Beijing.
“Maybe when we wake up tomorrow morning, the island will already be covered with red flags. Just the thought of it makes me happy,” Liu said in one of the videos. She was given 10 days to make travel arrangements.
Two other Chinese influencers, Xiao Wei and En Qi, also had their residency permits revoked for promoting China‘s forceful unification with Taiwan. Like Liu, both women had been residing in Taiwan through marriage-based residency, according to immigration officials.
“Publicly advocating for armed unification, invasion, or the elimination of our national sovereignty exceeds the bounds of free speech,” the agency said in a statement released Tuesday.
Cho Jung-tai, Taiwan’s premier, said: “Freedom of speech has its limits—and the limit is the country’s survival.”
Cited precedents in the United States, Cho said democracies can take “reasonable measures” to restrict certain freedoms on national security grounds.
Critics have accused Lai’s Beijing-skeptic government of overreach, and of advancing a hostile agenda against China.
The Taiwan Affairs Office—a Chinese cabinet agency responsible for cross-Taiwan Strait relations—criticized Taipei at a regular press briefing on Wednesday, without mentioning the deportations.
“The facts fully demonstrate that the Lai administration is the greatest obstacle to cross-strait exchanges and the greatest source of risk to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” said office spokesperson Cheng Binhua.
What’s Been Said
Liu Zhenya, Chinese online influencer, in a statement to the press: “Today I leave as an innocent person. I hope when I apply to reunite with my family [in Taiwan], the National Immigration Agency and Interior Ministry will review my case according to the law and not stop me.”
Chen Yi-nan, a patent attorney, in a Taipei Times newspaper commentary: “Taiwan and China are not subservient to one another. The obvious split between a democratic Taiwan and an authoritarian China is an uncontestable reality and is part of the international consensus.
“Advocating for the military annexation of Taiwan not only contravenes the covenants on freedom of speech and expression under the [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights], but also contravenes the ‘Purpose and Principles’ section and other conventions of the U.N. Charter.”
What’s Next
Taiwanese authorities have not yet specified the dates by which Xiao and En must leave the island.
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