Violent attacks on critics of China in Taiwan raise concern over transnational repression

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Comedian Huang Yi-hao was involved in a car accident in September, but it turned out to be a deliberate attack

Comedian Huang Yi-hao was involved in a car accident in September, but it turned out to be a deliberate attack

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- In September, comedian Huang Yi-hao was involved in a car accident, something that could happen to anyone. But one thing stood out: the men in the other car were unusually polite, and even offered to cover his medical bills and the damage to his car.

Huang later received a call from Taiwanese police telling him it wasn't an ordinary accident.

Taipei prosecutors in October charged five men for deliberately attempting to injure Huang in a case that has drawn attention across Taiwan. Authorities say it is part of a growing trend where operatives paid by China harass or attack people on the self-ruled island who are seen as critical of the government in Beijing.

“In the beginning, it was verbal harassment, then it morphed to pouring paint and property damage ... to the level of causing a fake car accident," Chiu Shao-Chou, the commissioner of Taiwan's Criminal investigation Bureau, said. "There's a trend of increasing severity, and that's something we have to take seriously.”

Taiwan is a democratic island claimed by Beijing, which hasn't ruled out using force to annex it. Taiwanese authorities have long worried about Chinese infiltration attempts, including spy plots targeting senior military officials and the president's bodyguards, disinformation schemes during elections or the use of cultural exchanges as a way to spread Communist Party ideology.

China's tactics to harass, spy on or even harm dissidents abroad have come to light in recent years. In 2023, authorities in New York made arrests in connection with secret police stations set up on behalf of the Chinese government to surveil Chinese dissidents.

Huang said the car attack might have been linked to his performance at the end of last year, in which he criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping and compared him to Winnie the Pooh.

Huang said he had stopped collaborating with other comedians and…

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