Having used a Hong Kong passport to get to Taichung, a Chinese man surnamed Liao (also rendered “Liu”) assaulted a Chinese-Japanese political commentator, Akio Yaita, known for his pro-Taiwan and anti-CCP viewpoint.
After Yaita gave a talk at a hotel, Liao followed him into the lobby, where, according to security video, “he appears to shout at him before punching him in the face, leaving his lips and mouth bloody” (Taipei Times, July 7, 2026).
Liao was arrested while trying to leave Taiwan. He had apparently planned the assault.
The Mainland Affairs Council said that this is the first cross-border repression case seen since China’s Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress was put into effect….
Taichung City Councilor and convenor of the Democratic Progressive Party council caucus Chou Yung-hong said yesterday that violence against public speakers, journalists or public commentators is unacceptable in a democratic society.
Yaita has long focused on issues related to China, and the issue should not be dismissed as a random altercation, Chou added.
Yaita said he cannot rule out that he was targeted because of his past comments and political views.
Yaita has frequented TV political shows as a commentator since leaving Sankei Shimbun in 2024. Born in China and immigrating to Japan at age 15, Yaita became a Taiwan citizen in 2024. He now heads the Taipei-based Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank.
The ROC’s Mainland Affairs Council responded to the Chinese government’s implicit endorsement of the attack, saying that
Beijing had failed to condemn the assault and had instead “glorified violence” by describing it as an act motivated by “righteous indignation.”
“What the Chinese Communist Party said today was either a blatant lie or an attempt to treat Taiwanese people as fools,” MAC said.
The agency was referring to remarks made…by Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, who said Liu had acted out of “righteous indignation” and that the incident was an “ordinary” public security case that occurred by chance.
It’s both, MAC. Chen Binhua was lying and treating everybody who might hear his words as if we are all fools.
With regard to Liao, whom investigators and Yaita himself suspect of having acted with support behind the scenes, Vision Times reports: “Further allegations emerged from Pulse HK News, [a Chinese-language publication] operated by Hong Kong journalists living in exile.”
It was Pulse which, “citing former Hong Kong district councilor Li Wenhao and unnamed sources,” identified the suspect as “Liao Gangfa” and reported “previous criminal convictions in Hong Kong involving drug trafficking and assault.” In several early stories on the assault, Liao is referred to only by his surname.
“According to Li, Liao allegedly became indebted after his release from prison and was later recruited by individuals associated with Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing ‘United Front’ network to carry out the attack.” Pulse’s reporting has not yet been confirmed by the Taiwanese authorities.
