Taipei, March 17 (CNA) Taiwan’s interior minister said Monday that a Chinese national who advocated for China’s annexation of Taiwan through military force should, “in theory,” leave the country within 10 days of receiving her deportation order on Saturday.
Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) explained to lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan that the woman, identified by her surname Liu (劉) and her public social media account “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣), was sent a deportation notice on March 15.
Asked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) for the exact deadline of the Chinese woman’s required departure from Taiwan, the minister did not give a direct answer.
“In theory, Ms. Liu should leave the country within 10 days after receiving the [deportation order],” Liu Shyh-fang said.
She explained that the deportation order is “somewhat similar” to a registered mail situation, where the time starts from the day after the recipient receives the letter.
“If it was delivered to your house but you didn’t receive it until the next day, then counting would start from the third day, which means there is some wiggle room,” the interior minister said.
“But no matter what day it is, we will still allow her time to leave the country safely,” she added.
The Chinese woman, whose residence in Taiwan was based on her marriage to a Taiwanese citizen, drew public ire over comments she made on Chinese social media platform Douyin advocating for China’s “unification” with Taiwan using military force.
According to the National Immigration Agency (NIA), the influencer’s statements on her social media account, which has nearly 400,000 followers, violated regulations governing Chinese residents living in Taiwan.
The Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area states that a Chinese national “may be deported, or ordered to depart within 10 days” under circumstances including “being considered threat [sic] to the national or social stability based on sufficient facts.”
The NIA also said that Liu would be banned from applying for family-based residency in Taiwan for five years.
According to an NIA statement on Saturday, the Chinese national’s remarks “advocated the elimination of our country’s sovereignty” and are “not tolerated by [Taiwanese] society.”
