◎ Straightforward
Huang Yihao, a Taiwanese crosstalk actor who satirized Xi Jinping, was deliberately hit by a car while riding his motorcycle near his residence in Yonghe, New Taipei. This was no ordinary car accident. The New Taipei District Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit stating that the foreigner "K" allegedly paid NT$450,000 to a Taiwanese person to follow Huang Yihao, collect personal information, and arranged for multiple people to ambush, look out, and drive into the car, in an attempt to cause him to be seriously injured and hospitalized, making him unable to catch up with the performance.
Huang Yihao, a Taiwanese crosstalk actor who satirized Xi Jinping, was paid by foreigners to stage a fake car accident (pictured below left) in an attempt to cause him to be seriously injured and hospitalized, making him unable to catch up with the performance. (Compiled by this newspaper, file photo, and reproduced by reporter Lu Yunfeng) Prosecutors alleged that Huang Yihao's motorcycle was equipped with a GPS, and his daily routine and whereabouts were controlled. On the day of the collision, someone was watching, driving, and videotaping it. Afterwards, the injuries were notified to the overseas client. In the end, Huang Yihao only suffered a contusion on his right pelvis. The prosecutor said that the driver stopped after hearing his screams. Although the five defendants have been charged, they still have to be tried in court. However, the methods revealed in the indictment are enough to show that this is not a traffic dispute, but a foreign force using violence to prevent a performer from taking the stage to express his free will as a political expression. The car crashed into Huang Yihao. What really wanted to knock him off were what he said and the cross talk that countless "Huang Yihao" would perform in the future with free creativity. What foreign forces want to challenge is not Huang Yihao, but the Taiwanese people's will to pursue democracy and freedom represented by Huang Yihao.
And this is not an isolated threat. The Camidi Comedy Club, where Huang Yihao performed, was previously splashed with paint and feces. The Taipei District Prosecutor's Office also prosecuted the defendant in this case, believing that it was at the instigation of foreign persons. From attacking the venue to attacking the actors, the message of intimidation is clear: not only do the performers get hurt, but the next person about to take the stage also needs to think about whether this performance is worth it.
In front of the home of legislator Shen Boyang, who is currently a candidate for mayor of Taipei City, there was photography equipment hidden under the motorcycle seat cushion, and the camera was focused on him and his wife and daughter as they went in and out. According to the prosecutor, a Hong Kong person paid about NT$360,000 to entrust a credit reporting agency to follow the surveillance, and then subcontracted it through layers of subcontractors. The enforcer hid a miniature camera in a motorcycle in front of his home, recorded and transmitted the image for a long time. The Taipei District Prosecutor's Office prosecuted four people for violating personal information laws. One of them was sentenced to one year and six months in prison, and two other Hong Kong clients were wanted. The footage of this case captured the comings and goings of a family, but the message sent out was: "I know where you live, and you are always under my control." It revealed a surprising guess: Why are there so many legislators and influential people in Taiwan so afraid of the CCP?
In front of the home of legislator Shen Boyang, who is currently a candidate for mayor of Taipei City, there was photography equipment hidden under the motorcycle seat cushion, and the camera was focused on him and his wife and daughter as they went in and out. (File photo) Senior journalist Akio Yaita was attacked head-on after his speech. The Taichung District Prosecutor's Office determined that Hong Kong gang members were hired to form a cross-border violence group and came to Taiwan to carry out attacks. They were charged with harming, intimidating the public, and participating in a criminal organization and were charged with five years in prison. The person behind the incident and whether there are any collaborators in Taiwan still need to be further investigated. The speech ended and the fists took over. This punch hits journalists, but fear may be left to the next speaker who is prepared to publicly fight for democracy and freedom in Taiwan.
The U.S. Department of Justice also indicted Chang Wanying, accusing her of accepting instructions from Chinese officials to monitor the families of high-ranking Taiwanese officials in the United States, photographing their homes and reporting license plates; the relevant investigation involved the son of President Lai Ching-te. This case was handled in the United States, but it made Taiwan see the same problem: if foreign forces use agents to collect information about the lives of politicians' families, the intelligence may become a tool of threat and pressure. This information will play a decisive role in important elections in Taiwan and key decisions of important political workers in Taiwan in the future.
After Akio Yaita (right) gave a speech in Taichung City in early July, he was punched and attacked by a Chinese man surnamed Liao in the hotel lobby (combined by this newspaper, provided by the public, and information photos). The victims, locations, and methods of these four cases are different. It cannot be concluded without proof that they are from the same chain of command; but they all point to an unavoidable phenomenon: foreign forces may bring surveillance, intimidation, and violence into Taiwan's political life through money, entrustment, and local collaborators or enforcers. When legislators and their families are under surveillance, journalists are attacked after giving speeches, and crosstalk actors are followed and injured for satirizing Xi Jinping, it is not just individuals who are injured, but the people's freedom to participate in politics, supervise power, and express openly.
Sun Tzu's Art of War, "Planning and Attack," said: "A soldier who subdues without fighting is a virtuous person." Hostile forces do not necessarily need to occupy the streets. First, scare those who dare to speak, make them worry about their families, jobs, and personal safety, and silence bystanders. This may achieve the effect of "without starting a war, first making people afraid to resist." Violence does not have to happen every day; as long as people believe it can happen at any time and our laws and governments are unable to effectively stop it, the chilling effect has already begun.
Taiwan already has regulations such as the National Security Law and the Anti-Infiltration Law, but overseas agency relationships, following people in custody to collect personal information, and intimidation and harm are often dealt with as different crimes. If the case only deals with the final executioners and collaborators, the investors, commanders, and subcontracting networks may be hiding abroad, and the country may not be able to fully reveal who is controlling and why these people are targeted.
Taiwan should establish a foreign agent legal system that requires those who are commanded, controlled, entrusted or funded by foreign governments or foreign forces to engage in specific political activities to disclose their agency relationships and funding sources. A special law should be enacted, or clear provisions should be added to the existing criminal law and related laws. Those who, knowingly being instructed or funded by foreign forces, still use violence, stalking, illegal surveillance, illegal collection of personal information, or intimidation to interfere with Taiwan's freedom of expression should be punished in accordance with the original crime. If the circumstances are serious, the criminal liability should be doubled. The accountability should not only stop at the person who committed the crime, but also those who funded, planned, subcontracted and concealed the money flow, and issued a wanted order in Taiwan.
Zhang Wanying, a female real estate agent in California, was arrested and detained after being arrested on suspicion of being ordered by the Chinese government to spy on President Lai Qingde’s son, Lai Tingyu. (AP file photo) This is not about giving the government new tools to suppress speech, but about giving the country the ability to protect people's exercise of the freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution. Democracy cannot only allow people to speak without protecting those who speak; it cannot wait until someone is injured to discover that the law only sees a car accident, a camera, and a fist, but cannot see the political purpose and overseas chain of command behind it.
When the hands of foreign forces have reached into our home, Taiwan's laws cannot remain outside the door.
(The author is a lawyer and political commentator)
