Taiwanese authorities have revoked the resident status of three women from China after determining that they had abused their status by calling for Taiwan to be invaded and conquered by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The trio—known by their online monikers “Yaya,” “Xiaowei,” and “Enqi”—acquired their Taiwan residency through marriage to Taiwanese men. They were active on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, where they promoted pro-CCP content, such as the idea that Taiwan should be subject to “armed unification” with the Chinese mainland.
“The mainland Chinese spouse, a woman surnamed Liu ... engaged in speech openly agitating for China’s armed unification of Taiwan,” a March 15 notice on the NIA website explaining the revocation of her residency reads. “This behavior, which advocates the destruction of our national sovereignty, is intolerable.”
Liu’s Douyin account “Yaya in Taiwan” had about 500,000 followers.
A similar notice was issued on March 21 regarding “Xiaowei” and “Enqi,” whose real names have not been publicly reported. The two women protested outside Taiwan’s Presidential Office in Taipei days before their self-deportation deadline of March 31.
Countering Beijing’s Subversion
The CCP, which has never ruled Taiwan, considers the island to be a sovereign territory of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with the stated goal of bringing the de facto nation of 23 million under its control.In addition to building up the capabilities of its People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese regime has also spent decades infiltrating and subverting Taiwanese society via its “united front” organizations by targeting Taiwanese officials, military personnel, business circles, celebrities, and social media influencers, to cause or coerce them to influence Taiwan’s society and pass intelligence to the CCP.
“China’s ambition to annex Taiwan and eliminate the Republic of China has not changed. Not only does it continue to threaten and intimidate, it has deepened its influence campaign and infiltration effort,” Lai said, referring to Taiwan’s formal name. The government of the Republic of China previously ruled the mainland before it was forced into exile by the CCP in 1949.
Lee Yeau-tarn, an adjunct professor at National Chengchi University’s Graduate Institute of National Development, told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that while the people of Taiwan have the freedom to advocate for either the island’s independence or peaceful unification, supporting the CCP’s military invasion is not protected speech.
“By openly advocating for the CCP’s armed unification of Taiwan, Yaya was infringing on the fundamental right of all Taiwanese people to live free from fear—one of the four essential freedoms of humanity,” Lee said.
“Mainland spouses in Taiwan who recognize and support the Republic of China’s democratic values and human rights are welcome. But if they are influenced by the CCP and openly advocate for military aggression against Taiwan, it will never be tolerated.”
Advocating ‘Armed Unification’
According to the “Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area” in Taiwan’s law, a mainland Chinese national “may be deported, or ordered to depart within 10 days” under circumstances that include “being considered [a] threat to [Taiwan’s] national security or social stability based on sufficient facts.”In one video posted to TikTok in May 2024 in which she commented on an ongoing PLA military exercise, Liu said: “Maybe when we wake up tomorrow, Taiwan will be filled with the [PRC’s] red flags. Just the thought of it makes me happy.”
“Enqi” said that the “Liberation Army maneuvers are a demonstration of a strong military power and determination to defend national sovereignty,” as well as “armed unification is inevitable and cannot be stopped.”
“Xiaowei” made statements similar to Liu’s, saying that she hopes to see the communist red flags flown all over Taiwan, and she was often seen accompanied by her children in her pro-CCP videos.
The revocation of the mainland spouses’ resident status has driven heated discussion on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Li Hsiu-ying, a Taiwanese elementary school teacher, told The Epoch Times that given the extensive coverage that Liu enjoyed from the Chinese state-run media throughout the “Yaya incident,” her background was far from that of a simple pro-CCP Chinese patriot.
She further noted that in footage posted online, Liu can be seen escorted by an entourage of men in plainclothes upon arriving at the airport in Fuzhou.
Cross-Strait Reactions
As Liu’s case began to receive public attention earlier this year, she deleted much of the content from her Douyin channel. She uploaded a video defending her previous statements, saying she did not work on behalf of the CCP or advocate “armed unification.”
Liu and her family also tried to appeal the immigration agency’s decision, but this effort was rejected by the Taipei High Administrative Court.
Liu said that by being separated from her Taiwanese husband and children and forced back to China, she was being “thrust into an abyss of no return.”
She was criticized by both mainland Chinese and Taiwanese netizens, who took her characterization of her homeland as an “abyss of no return” as a reflection of her true attitude toward life in China.
While initially vowing not to return to China on her own, Liu relented at the eleventh hour, saying that she would go back “with [her] head high” rather than be deported, hoping that she could reapply for residency in five years.
On March 28, “Xiaowei” and “Enqi” held a protest before the Taiwan presidential office to defend their “rights as mothers.”
“Enqi” left Taiwan on March 31, right before her grace period ended, according to local media, while “Xiaowei” was deported the following day.
He Xinyao, a mainland Chinese spouse residing in Taiwan who hosts a popular YouTube channel, commented on the irony of “Xiaowei” and “Enqi” having the freedom to demonstrate unobstructed in front of the Presidential Office, while such actions would be severely punished under CCP rule.
“You two, by your own actions, demonstrated that there are many things you can do in Taiwan that would be extremely difficult in mainland China.”
