Taiwanese authorities have revoked the residence permit of a mainland Chinese influencer following her remarks advocating Beijing’s “forceful reunification with Taiwan.”
The woman, surnamed Liu, is the spouse of a Taiwanese man and currently resides in Taiwan with a family reunion residence permit, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the NIA, Liu had advocated for Beijing’s “forceful reunification” with Taiwan on her social media accounts, “Ya Ya in Taiwan,” with statements such as “Mainland China does not need any reason for its forceful reunification with Taiwan,” and Beijing should not “delay the forceful reunification.”
Following an investigation and discussions with relevant agencies, the NIA said, it decided to revoke her residence permit and would not allow her to apply for another permit for the next five years.
Citing a regulation governing family reunion residence permits, it said the decision was made out of consideration for national security.
“The National Immigration Agency urges specific individuals not to make inappropriate statements for the sake of increasing online traffic for profit,” the statement read. “Such actions may not only violate relevant laws but also waste social and administrative resources.”
‘Freedom of speech’
Liu has over 460,000 followers on Douyin, and around 700 subscribers on YouTube.
In one video she uploaded on YouTube, Liu talked about China’s military strength and urged Taiwan to “obediently return to the embrace of the motherland.”
Last Thursday, Liu posted a YouTube video talking about her three-hour-long meeting with the NIA. In the footage, she said that advocating “reunification with China” was her “dream,” and she did not receive any funding from Beijing.
“As an ordinary person, I have my personal views,” she said in Mandarin. “Many public figures in Taiwan talk about Chinese military forces every day, which can be circulated on public platforms. Why can’t I share my opinions? So what is free speech in Taiwan?”
In response, Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang said on Wednesday that freedom of speech was not an excuse to encourage military aggression against Taiwan, local media outlets reported.
The Republic of China (ROC) government has ruled Taiwan since 1945 after Japan was defeated in World War II, ending 50 years of occupation. The ROC authorities fully retreated to the island in 1949 after being defeated by the Chinese Communist Party in the Civil War. Beijing has since claimed democratic Taiwan as one of its provinces, threatening to unify it by force if necessary.
See also: Explainer – Is Taiwan a country? The self-ruled island’s disputed status
