Taiwanese officials have ordered a Chinese influencer living in Taiwan to leave the island within days or face deportation after she posted videos endorsing the concept of China conquering the island by force. According to Taiwan's National Immigration Agency (NIA), responsible for canceling the influencer's visa, her "behavior advocates the elimination of Taiwan's sovereignty and is not tolerated in Taiwanese society."
The influencer, identified by police as Liu moved from mainland China to Taiwan on a dependent visa after marrying a Taiwanese man. Local media stated that Liu had till March 24 to depart Taiwan before being forcibly deported. She will be unable to apply for another dependant visa for five years, according to an NIA statement issued on Saturday.
It is highly unusual for the government to remove Chinese spouses of Taiwanese nationals.
Liu uses the term "Taiwan province" to describe the island in the videos, echoing the Chinese government's claim that Taiwan is "an inseparable part of China."
China considers the self-governing island of Taiwan to be part of its territory and has not ruled out using force against it. However, Taiwan considers itself distinct from China.
Taiwan's government has denounced her comments, with Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang stating that freedom of speech was "not an excuse" for advocating for the invasion of Taiwan.
Liu is one of 360,000 mainland Chinese spouses living in Taiwan, whose activities have come under greater scrutiny as cross-strait tensions rise.
In a slate of steps unveiled last week to prevent Chinese influence and infiltration on the island, Taiwanese pPresidentLai Ching-te called for stricter monitoring of cross-strait exchanges,
