Taipei deports Chinese who supported 'military unification'

Cases of social media influencers expelled from island spark debate about free speech

- Yip Wai Yee

TAIPEI - A Chinese influencer who had advocated for the military annexation of Taiwan on social media was deported from the island on April 1, the latest of three similar cases in recent days that have sparked debate about free speech.

As she was escorted through Taoyuan International Airport for her flight to the Chinese city of Guangzhou, the influencer, who goes by her Douyin name Xiao Wei, removed her face mask and repeatedly shouted that she had "done nothing wrong".

Xiao Wei, identified by the authorities only by her surname Zhao, is the third Chinese influencer in a week forced to leave Taiwan after posting videos online in support of China's "reunification" with Taiwan by force. On the Douyin platform, she has some 150,000 followers.

She had failed to heed a March 31 deadline to leave the island on her own, following the government's revocation of her residence permit 10 days earlier.

Xiao Wei had reportedly been living on the island on a dependent's permit for 12 years and has three children with her Taiwanese husband. She is prohibited from applying for another residence permit for five years.

"Any acts that openly advocate military aggression and the elimination of Taiwan's sovereignty will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law, will not be tolerated, and will be enforced resolutely to safeguard national security and social stability," Taiwan's National Immigration Agency said in an April 1 statement.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has not renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.