Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: 矢板明夫俱樂部/Facebook
POLITICAL COMMENTATOR and former journalist Akio Yaita was attacked earlier this week by a Chinese man. The attack occurred while Yaita was speaking at a conference organized by the Spring Rain Culture and Education Foundation, which was occurring at a hotel in Taichung, the Tempus Hotel. Yaita was speaking on Indo-Pacific security and cross-strait relations. The attack occurred in the hotel lobby.
Yaita, currently the CEO of the Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank, was previously the Taipei bureau chief of Sankei Shimbun. Yaita, who was born in China and lived there until his teenage years, is known for his criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party and has since naturalized as a Taiwanese citizen. In Japanese politics, Yaita has largely aligned himself with the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party.
The injuries suffered by Yaita left his lips and mouth bloody. Specifically, Yaita suffered blunt-force injuries to his lower jaw and abrasion to his upper lip.
Yaita’s attacker, on the other hand, was a 33-year-old Chinese national named Liao Gangfa. Liao held a Hong Kong passport, with which he had traveled to Taiwan, but is thought to originally be from Guangdong. Liao arrived in Taiwan on July 2nd and transferred hotels several times during his stay. He is thought to have met with an unknown individual during his stay, who has already left Taiwan. After fleeing the scene of the attack, which took place on July 6th, Liao attempted to leave Taiwan on a flight to Taichung International Airport but was stopped by authorities.
Liao is currently being questioned. Authorities state that it is still unclear if he had any accomplices, while pro-democracy Hong Kong city councillor Lee Man-ho posted on social media that Liao had previously been sentenced to 50 months in prison in 2016 by Hong Kong courts, suggesting that Beijing had sent a former gangster to conduct attacks in Taiwan.
Among those to condemn the attack have been President Lai Ching-te, the DPP, and pan-Green leaning third parties such as the Green Party Taiwan, New Power Party, the Taiwan Obasang Political Equality Party, and the Taiwan Statebuilding Party. Taiwanese authorities have linked the attack to the passage of China’s new ethnic unity law, while in turn, Chinese state media has highlighted Yaita’s history of criticizing the Chinese government and suggested that the DPP is simply trying to smear the new law while ramping up anti-China sentiment.
One notes that there have previously been attacks on critics of the Chinese government in Taiwan. The recently deceased Lam Wing-kee, one of the imprisoned Causeway Bay booksellers, in addition to other Hong Kong pro-democracy figures, such as singer Denise Ho, had been splashed with paint during attacks, as also occurred with Henry Tong, the latter of whom had his gym splashed with paint by individuals who had previously scouted the location before quickly departing after the attack.
It may be that hit-and-run attacks as a form of harassment are increasingly common as a form of harassment and intimidation. It is also unclear if the Chinese government is taking advantage of the fact that Hong Kong residents have easier entry to Taiwan in order to conduct such attacks.
Furthermore, it would be nothing new if the Chinese government employs individuals linked to organized crime groups as part of efforts at harassment, as had also occurred in Hong Kong during the Yuen Long attacks that took place during the pro-democracy protests that broke out in Hong Kong in 2019. On other occasions, Taiwanese local organized crime has been employed, as occurred with attacks on Hong Kong activists, such as Joshua Wong, during visits to Taiwan, by individuals linked to the China Unification Promotion Party and Bamboo Union. But, insofar as Hongkongers have mostly been the target of such violent threats, it is to be seen if China is expanding the scope of harassment.