Category: Americas

Prominent Chinese influencer Liu Zhenya, also known as “Yaya,” left Taiwan Tuesday evening on orders from the Taiwanese government after she got in trouble for social media posts that appeared to support China’s use of force to take over Taiwan. Initially, Liu resisted leaving and held a press conference to protest the decision, claiming the Taiwan government was abusing its power. She was criticized by protesters who gathered at the scene and shouted anti-China slogans. But Liu left Taiwan on Tuesday evening, March 25, just before the deadline set by the Taipei government two weeks earlier. Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province that needs to be “reunified” with China, by force if necessary. The video that got Liu in trouble was from May 2024. At that time, she posted a video on her Douyin social media account about China’s “Joint Sword 2024A” military exercises around Taiwan. In the video, she called the Chinese military drills “the most intimidating and aggressive exercises ever,” and expressed support for defending national sovereignty. “Maybe tomorrow morning, the island will be filled with five-star red flags,” she said. “Just thinking about it makes me happy.” This video was later reposted on the official Facebook account of Taiwan.cn, a media outlet under the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing. On March 12, Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency, or NIA, determined that her actions violated regulations on residency for mainland Chinese nationals and revoked her residency permit on the grounds of “endangering national security and social stability.” It also imposed a five-year ban on reapplying for the permit and said she must leave the island by March 25. Heckled at press conference On Tuesday, Liu held a press conference to criticize the NIA’s decision to revoke her residency, calling it an abuse of power. Liu defended her comments, insisting that she had never advocated for military unification. “I support peaceful unification. My discussion of military unification was based on an analysis of the current situation,” she said. “Talking about military unification is different from advocating for it.” Liu also appealed to the Taiwan government not to separate her from her children, who live in Taiwan with her Taiwanese husband. 【亚亚抗拒限期离境 在台湾内政部陈情】【大批民众聚集抗议亚亚 要求她“回归中国”】网红八囧与群众在内政部门口与亚亚及支持者对峙，高喊口号。亚亚在内政部门口辩称自己没有主张武统，是对“形势的分析”。看看资料影片，大家觉得她的口气是“分析”还是“鼓吹武统”？#亚亚 #武统 #居留 #台湾 #中国… pic.twitter.com/HKAc6XUtea — 自由亚洲电台 (@RFA_Chinese) March 25, 2025 Throughout the press conference, protesters repeatedly shouted, “Welcome Yaya back to China,” along with other chants like “Yaya, go back to China!” and “June 4,” a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre that Beijing has attempted to cover up. Ba Jiong, a Taiwanese influencer who had originally reported on Liu’s actions, claimed Liu’s refusal to leave voluntarily was an attempt to stage a dramatic exit, with Taiwanese immigration officers escorting her onto the plane. Ba Jiong said this would allow Liu to create propaganda for Chinese state media. “Yaya wants to take a symbolic gesture back to China,” he said. “We’ll help fulfill her wish by holding signs like ‘June 4’ and images of Xi Jinping and the former Foreign Minister Qin Gang who went silent, making sure she has no material to use for her propaganda.” Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai said that freedom of speech must have limits. “Freedom of speech has boundaries, and the boundary is the survival of the state,” he said. “One cannot defame the country and still expect it to protect you.” In a separate interview, Interior Minister Liu Shih-fang pointed out that Liu was not just an ordinary mother. “She is waging a legal, public opinion, and psychological battle, and she has also received support from many pro-China Taiwanese and influencers.” Liu confirmed that NIA had made a decision regarding Liu, urging her to leave voluntarily. “If she does not depart by the deadline, we will take compulsory measures, and this decision has not changed,” she said. Edited by Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s family continues to hold millions of dollars in business interests and financial investments, said a recent U.S. report, raising suspicion that they might have benefited from Xi’s position despite his decade-long anti-corruption campaign. Xi launched an anti-corruption drive shortly after he took power in 2012, aimed at rooting out corruption at all levels of the Communist Party. The campaign, which targeted both high-ranking “tigers” and low-level “flies,” led to the investigation and punishment of hundreds of thousands of officials. But the U.S.-backed intelligence agency Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, said Xi’s relatives have retained significant financial holdings, and they may have benefited from political connections through private and state-owned businesses. “Their [Chinese leaders’] senior-level positions would have granted access to privileged information and both private and state-owned enterprise actions could have advantaged family holdings due to their connections to persons with political power,” said the ODNI in a report released on Thursday. It didn’t identify any direct influence from the leaders contributing to growth in family investments. But it warned that centralized power, a lack of independent oversight, and minimal accountability, especially at the provincial level, are systemic factors that allow corruption to thrive in China. The report said these factors enable government officials to increase their personal wealth through corruption at a rate estimated to be four to six times their official salaries. “Higher-ranking officials, who have greater access to state resources, benefit the most from bribery and illicit financial dealings,” said the ODNI, citing membership in China’s National People’s Congress, or NPC, as an example. “Potential benefits of NPC membership incentivize individuals to pay high costs to join, often through bribes, and to accept bribes while a member, or even upon completion of service, to facilitate business deals,” it added. The NPC, China’s legislative body that serves primarily as a rubber-stamp parliament, is perceived as a status symbol and vehicle through which to gain access to sensitive government information. Xi’s anti-corruption drive Since taking power, Xi has positioned himself as a staunch opponent of corruption, launching an unprecedented crackdown within the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, the government, and the military. According to the ODNI, from 2012 to 2022, nearly five million officials have been investigated, with 4.7 million found guilty. “In his words, Xi intended to make government officials ‘unable and unwilling to be corrupt,’” said the ODNI. RELATED STORIES Chinese officials get derisory ‘Snail Awards’ for lying down on the job China probes top military official for ‘serious violations’ China to seize 3.1 bln yuan in assets linked to exiled former vice mayor The report also acknowledged that Xi’s early anti-corruption investigations primarily targeted high-ranking officials associated with his predecessors. But a decade-long drive widened its focus to officials from various factions, including those with close personal ties to Xi. Notably, in recent months, Xi has removed several top military officials, including Defense Minister Li Shangfu and Admiral Miao Hua, both of whom were considered close allies. Their abrupt dismissals underscore the CCP’s ongoing concerns about loyalty and military effectiveness, particularly within the People’s Liberation Army, which Xi has ordered to be combat-ready for a potential conflict over Taiwan by 2027. Edited by Taejun Kang and Stephen Wright. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika