Yaita Akio Attacked; Taiwan Forward Alliance Calls for Strengthening Entry Screening

(CNA, Taipei, July 8) -- Yaita Akio, CEO of the Indo-Pacific Strategy Think Tank, was attacked in Taichung on July 6. The "Taiwan Forward Alliance" stated today that this case is the first test of China's "Law on Safeguarding National Security and Stability" (民族團結進步促進法) being implemented, involving cross-border suppression in Taiwan. The alliance has put forward three demands: thoroughly investigate the instigators, strengthen entry screening, and accelerate legal reforms.

Yaita Akio was punched in the face and escaped by a 33-year-old man surnamed Liao after attending a camp event organized by the Chunyu Cultural and Educational Foundation in Taichung on July 6. Police identified Liao as the perpetrator and learned he intended to leave the country. They intercepted him, disguised, at Taichung Airport and arrested him. He was sent for investigation on charges including violating the Anti-Infiltration Act. Prosecutors requested pre-trial detention and a ban on communication, which the court granted.

The Taiwan Forward Alliance held a press conference outside the Legislative Yuan this morning titled "Chinese Transnational Repression and Violence; Taiwanese Society Will Not Yield." New Power Party Chairwoman Wang Wan-yu stated that the ambush, disguise, and precise departure arrangements resembled a rehearsed operation. Coupled with the timing of the "Law on Safeguarding National Security and Stability" (民族團結進步促進法) just coming into effect, she does not believe it was a coincidence.

Wu Hsin-tai, chairperson of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party's Taipei chapter, called the incident a "gray zone attack" by the Chinese Communist Party. Retired Air Force Colonel and Taiwan Statebuilding Party Military Affairs Department representative Deng Le-qiang declared that any external force would not be allowed to use Taiwan as an experimental ground for cross-border suppression.

The Taiwan Forward Alliance presented three demands: First, a thorough investigation by judicial authorities. Second, a comprehensive review of entry screening. Third, accelerated legal reforms, including amending the "Anti-Infiltration Act" to include sanctions for violence instigated from abroad, stipulating that fines in lieu of imprisonment and suspended sentences are not permitted, and accelerating the passage of the "Foreign Influence Agent Registration Act."