TAIPEI, Taiwan—The Taiwanese government has condemned an assault by a Chinese man on a Japanese journalist known for his criticism of Beijing, saying it was the first case of “transnational repression” under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) new “ethnic unity” law.
On July 6, Akio Yaita, a Taiwan-based political commentator and head of a think tank, gave a speech at a hotel in the city of Taichung.
After the event, Yaita went to the hotel lobby. Security footage from the hotel, aired by multiple local media outlets, shows a man dressed in black approach Yaita and punch him in the face.
Hours later, the man was arrested by the police at the Taichung International Airport, just before he boarded a plane to South Korea, according to Taiwan’s national media outlet, Central News Agency. Authorities identified him only by his surname, Liao, saying the 33-year-old was traveling on a Hong Kong passport.
‘Transnational Repression’
On July 1, China rolled out a new law that provides a legal basis for advancing a Beijing-defined “shared” national identity and bans acts that “undermine ethnic unity” or “incite ethnic divisions.” One of its provisions, Article 63, states that organizations and individuals beyond China’s borders can be held legally accountable for these banned acts.
Taiwanese authorities noted the assault on Yaita, former Taipei bureau chief of the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun and current CEO of the Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank, was the first incident of transnational repression since the law came into force.
“By deliberately selecting a high-profile [target], the CCP is demonstrating to the world that its use of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction and carry out transnational repression is not an alarmist rhetoric—it is a stark and unmistakable reality,” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, a government agency that handles cross-strait affairs, said in a statement on July 7.
Hsiao Kuang-wei, spokesman for Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, likewise described the incident as an example of “transnational repression,” during a daily press conference on July 7.
Hsiao urged the international community to join forces to counter China’s “abuse of transnational repression” and to recognize the harmful impacts and broader consequences stemming from the new Chinese law and acts of violence.
In the United States, a bipartisan group of lawmakers—including Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)—shared similar concerns. In a statement on July 1, they said the law gives Beijing “near limitless authority” to prosecute its critics, and “continues its development of a legal framework to legitimize its transnational repression.”
Freedom of Speech
Yaita wrote in a Facebook post on July 7 that his lip had been cut in the attack, causing “quite a lot of bleeding,” but the wound had gradually begun to heal. He added that his front teeth were still slightly loose and caused pain when he ate.
In a separate Facebook post on July 7, Yaita said the Chinese man allegedly had a criminal record and links to gangs. He expressed concern that individuals like the man, who can enter Taiwan relatively easily using Hong Kong passports, could identify targets, commit crimes, and quickly leave the island.
“If this pattern is not stopped in time, the person attacked today is a current affairs commentator; tomorrow, it could be a politician, a scholar, or even any Taiwanese person who openly expresses views different from those of the Chinese Communist Party,” Yaita wrote.
Yaita said that he would not be cowed by the assault.
Late on Tuesday evening, Central News Agency reported that Taichung District Court had granted the local prosecutors’ request to place Liao under detention without access to visitors.
Citing a police investigation, the outlet reported that Liao was originally from Guangdong Province in southern China and had entered Taiwan on July 2 under the stated purpose of tourism.
Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim told reporters on July 7 that the incident served as a warning to Taiwan.
“Regardless of our views or opinions, we hope to express them in an environment that is safe and respectful toward one another,” the vice president said. “Violence is absolutely unacceptable.”
