Akio Yaita, CEO of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank, was beaten by members of the Hong Kong gang "Washenghe" after giving a speech in Taichung in July this year. The Taichung District Prosecutor's Office today (6th) indicted the Chinese Hong Kong man, Liao Gangfa, on charges of injury, public insult, and participation in a criminal organization, and asked for a harsher sentence of 5 years. Akio Yaita said in an interview today that he was very grateful to Taiwan's prosecutors and police departments for clarifying what happened in a short period of time. He believes that the most important thing is that the prosecution proves that this violence was not an accidental incident, nor was it motivated by righteous indignation, but a planned, organized, and paid act of violence; he hopes to destroy the courage of Taiwanese people to speak out and the voice of Taiwanese critics of China. As for specific judicial issues such as prosecution charges, he said that he was not a professional and respected the judgment of the judicial authorities.
Akio Yaita believes that the prosecutor’s assessment of this case as a cross-border crackdown intended to create a chilling effect is correct. For example, he cited the recent issue of surveillance of President Lai Ching-te's family members in the United States. Not long ago, a talk show theater in Taipei was attacked, and a restaurant named "Xi Jinping" in South Korea was vandalized by people from China, who quickly returned home. He said that this series of events proves that China’s cross-border suppression has become more intensified, escalating from various online threats to specific actions.
Talking about President Lai’s family members being monitored in the United States, Akio Yaita pointed out that President Lai’s family members are not public figures, have never criticized China, and have not participated in specific political activities, but they are under surveillance just because they are the family members of politicians. He said that this makes people shudder when thinking about it, and it also shows that China's various threats to overseas countries have become more serious.
As for the Mainland Affairs Council’s plan to amend the law to counterattack, Akio Yaita said that this time it was because the prisoners were caught that a lot of evidence could be found from their mobile phones. Without such evidence, such cases often turn into ordinary security incidents. According to current laws, it is difficult to severely punish these criminals, and their crime costs are very low. But the chilling effect they have caused and the goals they want to achieve are actually very evil, and they are a serious challenge to Taiwan's democracy and freedom of speech. Therefore, he believes that the law should be amended to deal with this kind of cross-border, organized, and politically motivated violence.
Akio Yaita also said that this is not just a matter of Taiwan. Japan, South Korea, the United States and other democratic countries around the world are facing the same problem. He believes that countries should connect together to establish a common response to China's cross-border repression. He pointed out that most of the people who entered Taiwan this time were gang members, and it was not difficult for gang members to enter Taiwan now. He predicts that there will be more and more such things in the future, and not only the Hong Kong gang, but also the Japanese gang and various people from Europe and the United States may enter Taiwan to commit crimes. He therefore suggested that Taiwan review whether it should strengthen border entry controls.
The indictment stated that the group originally planned to have a man named Kwong attack with a glass bottle. Akio Yaita admitted that he was really shocked when he saw this content. He explained that at that time, the poster of the Chunyu Cultural and Educational Foundation only stated that there would be a total of seven lecturers on July 5 and 6 because some lecturers' schedules had not been finalized. He was ranked first, but he actually took the stage on July 6. The other party therefore took it for granted that he would show up on July 5th. He said if the poster had been written more clearly, he might have been caught by them. He also agreed that if the other party had used a glass bottle, the injury might have been more serious.
Regarding the injury, Akio Yaita revealed that when he visited the dentist afterwards, he was diagnosed with 9 loose teeth, mainly in the upper row. In the first month or so, it was quite difficult and painful to eat, but now I have basically recovered and it has little impact on my life. He also thanked the police departments across Taiwan for their recent attention and dispatching a large number of police officers to maintain order during his public schedule and seminars. He believes that living a normal life is the most beneficial countermeasure.
As for the psychological level, Yaita Akio said that of course he will pay more attention to his own safety than before, and he will also have some sensitive reactions when encountering strangers approaching him. However, he believes that the other party sent so many people and spent so much money not to teach him a lesson or to punch him, but to destroy the courage of Taiwanese people to speak out and to suppress Taiwan's voice in criticizing China. He said that before the attack, only one person might speak out. After the attack, if three or five people came forward, more and more people would speak out. "If we don't continue to speak out, they will succeed. The more they do, the more courageous we should be to stand up."
