Taiwan/Flag of the Republic of China. On January 11, 2023, at a military base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan‘s armed forces conducted a two-day routine exercise. (Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)
[People News] Taiwanese stand-up comedian Huang Yi-hao has faced repeated threats, including having faeces thrown at him and a deliberate car-ramming attack, after performing material satirising Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping. On October 21, the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office concluded its investigation and found that an individual in mainland China had provided NT$450,000 to instruct local Taiwanese accomplices to surveil Huang and attempt to run him over, seriously injuring him in order to prevent him from performing. Five people have been indicted on charges including attempted serious bodily injury. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) strongly condemned the CCP’s suspected use of violence for transnational repression, stressing that anyone who accepts instructions or inducements to help harm the people of Taiwan will be held accountable under the law and pursued to the fullest extent, with “no leniency.”
According to reports by Storm Media and several other outlets in Taiwan, 44-year-old Huang Yi-hao uploaded a short video titled “Better to Insult Xi Alone Than to Have the Masses Insult Him Together” to social media in December last year. The video directly addressed sensitive topics, including Xi Jinping’s constitutional amendments that paved the way for him to rule indefinitely and claims that he earned a doctorate despite having only an elementary school education. The video sparked considerable discussion online. Huang subsequently planned to hold solo performances at the Comedy Club on May 29 and 30 this year.
However, the satirical performance apparently provoked retaliation from CCP forces operating overseas. On May 29, Huang was targeted by unidentified individuals who deliberately threw faeces at him at the performance venue. Following its investigation, the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office found that two suspects, Liu Sheng-jie and Guo Wei-hao, had been incited by CCP-linked forces to deliberately cause trouble at the venue.
The CCP did not stop there. On September 11, Huang was struck and injured by a car near his residence.
The New Taipei District Prosecutors Office stated that this “staged car accident” was orchestrated by a Chinese individual known by the nickname “K,” who provided NT$450,000 (New Taiwan dollars) to hire Zheng Bo-xuan, a former private investigator in Taiwan. The instructions were to ensure that Huang was injured badly enough to “break his arms and legs” and require hospitalisation, thereby preventing him from taking the stage on September 20.
Zheng subsequently worked with another defendant, You Wei-jie, to devise a plan to carry out the attack by staging a traffic accident. You then commissioned Huang Jia-qing to execute the plan and provided NT$90,000 in advance to purchase a vehicle for the operation. Huang Jia-qing recruited Fan Chong-hao and Liao Ben-cheng to participate.
On September 8, Huang Jia-qing and Fan Chong-hao purchased the vehicle intended for the crime. On September 9 and 10, they surveyed the area around Huang Yi-hao’s residence in Yonghe District, New Taipei City.
On the morning of September 11, Huang Jia-qing drove Fan Chong-hao and Liao Ben-cheng to the scene, where they lay in wait. The three agreed on their respective roles: Huang would drive the car into the target; Fan would monitor the target’s movements from the entrance to the alley; and Liao would record the incident from the front passenger seat to provide evidence to the Chinese financier that the job had been completed.
At approximately 4:54 p.m. that day, Fan Chong-hao spotted Huang Yi-hao returning on his motorcycle and immediately notified Huang Jia-qing to ram into him with the car. Fortunately, Huang Jia-qing lost his nerve after hearing Huang Yi-hao cry out in pain during the collision, then stopped the attack and fled. Huang Yi-hao ultimately sustained an injury to his right pelvis, but did not suffer serious bodily harm.
On October 21, the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office issued a press release announcing that it had formally indicted five suspects, including Zheng Bo-xuan, on charges including attempted serious bodily injury. In its indictment, the prosecution strongly condemned the five defendants for “selling out the country’s democratic defences” and requested prison sentences ranging from two years and seven months to five years and six months.
In response to this alarming case involving a contract attack allegedly orchestrated from overseas, the Mainland Affairs Council stated that it strongly condemned the CCP’s use of violent transnational repression against the people of Taiwan.
The MAC pointed out that the CCP not only refuses to tolerate dissent within its own borders but has also extended its reach abroad in an attempt to suppress freedom of expression in Taiwan, seriously challenging the island’s democratic and legal order.
The MAC issued a stern warning: “Anyone who accepts instructions, commissions, or inducements from the CCP or its accomplices to participate in or assist with transnational repression will be held accountable under the law and pursued to the fullest extent. We will show absolutely no leniency!”
Shen Po-yang, the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate for Taipei mayor, said today (October 21) that transnational repression must be treated as a serious matter. In addition to focusing on individual cases, Taiwan should establish a comprehensive legal framework to address transnational repression. Unfortunately, he said, his proposals on the issue have repeatedly struggled to receive serious attention in the Legislative Yuan.
Shen argued that transnational repression must be taken seriously. He said he had personally experienced such repression in 2024, and that the situation had escalated since last year. He and others had proposed that the Legislative Yuan pass a resolution condemning transnational repression targeting legislators, but the resolution failed to pass. As a result, he said, he felt that many politicians had adopted an ambiguous or evasive attitude toward the issue.
Shen stressed that condemning transnational repression should transcend party lines. Anyone subjected to such repression deserves protection, regardless of their religious beliefs, whether they perform stand-up comedy, or what kind of business they operate. He said that, in his view, the impact on him personally was a relatively minor matter, as the threats from the CCP had changed little over the years. However, the situation had now escalated to the point where his daughter was being followed. He believed that this was something an ordinary person would find extremely difficult to endure.
Shen called on Taiwan to establish a more comprehensive legal framework to address transnational repression, rather than focusing solely on individual cases. Unfortunately, he said, his proposals on the matter had repeatedly struggled to gain attention when raised in the Legislative Yuan.
After the case came to light, Huang Yi-hao posted an angry-face emoji on his Facebook fan page and wrote, “The formal indictments are in. Damn, I’ve unlocked a new achievement!” Many users left comments reminding him to stay safe.
Taiwanese online influencer Ba Jiong also published a post expressing his support. He noted that he, too, had faced threats over the past year. His home and family residence addresses had repeatedly been exposed online, and people had threatened to break his arms and legs. For security reasons, he can no longer announce his schedule in advance when attending events. He added, “I still have to thank the police for the measures they’ve taken, which have allowed me to stay alive until now.” △
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