A Chinese exchange student surnamed Wang was deported by the Immigration Agency for posting a visually distorted photo of "Pinching President Lai Ching-te's head through the air" on the Internet with the words "take it" and "cross-strait reunification". Legislator Lin Peixiang defended the students and said it was "just a joke" and questioned where "freedom of speech" has gone. However, senior media person Akio Yaita came out to criticize him for double standards, saying that he had been attacked before. Lin Peixiang said that the suspect might have just "identified the wrong person." During the general recall period, Lin Peixiang even held a press conference to demand his deportation.
Akio Yaita posted today that after the expulsion of the middle school student, Lin Peixiang immediately jumped out and questioned the government's excessive punishment. He emphasized that political ridicule should not be confused with substantively dangerous intimidation, and asked: "Where has freedom of speech gone?" He affirmed that politicians defended freedom of speech, but seeing Commissioner Lin's words reminded him of an experience he had in Keelung last year.
Please read on...
Akio Yaita said that he was invited by the Keelung Civic Group to participate in the general recall rally and deliver a speech in public. As a result, the Keelung City Party Headquarters of the Kuomintang and the team of Commissioner Lin Peixiang immediately held a press conference to accuse him of being a "foreigner" who should not be involved in Taiwanese politics. They also reported him to the Central Election Commission and the Immigration Department, demanding that he be deported. "The problem is that I had already obtained the citizenship of the Republic of China at that time. They didn't even do basic verification, and they rushed to hold a press conference and report to the government. I was just expressing political opinions in public. I neither intimidated anyone nor threatened anyone's safety."
Yaita Akio said that today it was a Chinese student who posted controversial pictures and texts threatening the president of Taiwan, but Lin Peixiang suddenly became a defender of free speech. What was even more difficult for him to understand was that on July 6 this year, he was suddenly attacked with a fist by a man with a Hong Kong gang background on the streets of Taichung. When people from all walks of life questioned that the Chinese authorities might be behind the incident and that it might be "cross-border repression," Commissioner Lin Peixiang immediately reminded everyone "not to preset a position," emphasizing that the suspect may have just "identified the wrong person." These remarks inevitably make people feel that they are trying to excuse the Chinese government.
Yaita Akio pointed out that the suspect has now been prosecuted. The prosecutor determined that this was an attack launched out of dissatisfaction with his remarks and had the background of organization, planning and financial rewards. It was intended to create a "chilling effect" in Taiwanese society and achieve the effect of "killing one person to serve as an example to others." Does Lin still insist on his original statement of "misidentifying the person"?
Finally, he said that from the above-mentioned incidents, it is really difficult not to doubt, what kind of freedom of speech is Commissioner Lin defending? Why do things suddenly become particularly tolerant as long as they have something to do with China? Isn't this a double standard?
