Violent attacks on critics of China in Taiwan raise concern over transnational repression

Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China, has recently experienced a surge in violent attacks against critics of Beijing. These incidents have raised concerns over transnational repression by China. In September, comedian Huang Yi-hao was involved in a car accident in Taiwan. However, what made this incident unusual was the unusually polite behavior of the other party, who even offered to cover his medical bills and repair his vehicle.

Later, Taiwanese police informed Huang that this was not an ordinary accident but an intentional attack. Taipei prosecutors charged five men for attempting to injure Huang, marking the beginning of a series of attacks that have been described by authorities as a growing trend. These attacks range from verbal harassment to pouring paint and causing property damage and even orchestrating fake car accidents.

Chiu Shao-Chou, commissioner of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, emphasized the increasing severity of these attacks.

China, being a democratic island, is a target of Beijing's potential forceful annexation. Taiwanese authorities have long been worried about Chinese infiltration attempts, including spy plots targeting senior military officials, disinformation schemes during elections, and the use of cultural exchanges for spreading Communist Party ideology.

In a similar incident, Hong Kong gangsters were accused of plotting to assault Japanese political commentator Akio Yaita in Taiwan. Five Hong Kong triad members, paid by a fellow gangster, entered Taiwan in July and inspected the area around Yaita's hotel where he was expected to give a speech. However, before the attack, two of them withdrew, and the remaining pair left Taiwan.

One of the men was arrested for assaulting Yaita, while another, who acted as a lookout, fled the country. Yaita, a former reporter in Beijing who now leads a think tank in Taiwan, believes this assault was linked to his criticisms of the Chinese government's policies, including his remarks comparing Chinese President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh.