Chinese influencer leaves Taiwan after unification remarks draw fire
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Chinese national and social media influencer Liu Zhenya being escorted by Taiwanese police officers after her press conference in Taipei on March 25.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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TAIPEI – A mainland Chinese influencer who is married to a Taiwanese man left the island on the evening of March 25, after the authorities ordered her to do so for allegedly advocating on social media for cross-strait unification by force.
Ms Liu Zhenya, a mother of three children, had her residence permit in Taiwan revoked earlier in March and was told to leave the self-ruled island by March 26 or face deportation. Known as “Yaya in Taiwan” on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, she has more than 400,000 followers.
“I am not leaving because I believe I am guilty. It’s because I respect Taiwan’s legal procedures,” Ms Liu said before boarding her flight from Taipei to Fuzhou in China. “I hope that when I subsequently apply for (family) reunification, the immigration agency will act in accordance with the law and not stop me.”
Ms Liu is prohibited from applying for a residence permit for five years, the immigration agency said on March 25, adding that “openly advocating (for the) military invasion” of Taiwan has “crossed the boundaries of freedom of speech”.
Earlier in the day, Ms Liu denied at a press conference in Taipei that she had advocated for China’s annexation of Taiwan by force, and called on Taiwan’s authorities to revoke the administrative action against her.
Angered by Ms Liu’s remarks on social media, scores of Taiwanese people carrying placards and banners gathered as she spoke to reporters, demanding her deportation and shouting she should “go back” to China. KYODO NEWS
