Chinese assailant attacks Yaita Akio; lawyer says KMT downplaying cross-border crackdown is refuted

Taiwanese lawyer Huang Ti-ying asserted that the Taichung police's decision to transfer a Chinese national suspected of assaulting journalist Yaita Akio under the Anti-Infiltration Act directly contradicts the Kuomintang (KMT) party's attempts to downplay cross-border suppression.

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The Taichung City Police Department's transfer of Chinese thugs under the Anti-Infiltration Act has slapped the KMT's face.

The incident occurred on July 6th when Yaita Akio, a veteran journalist and CEO of the Indo-Pacific Strategy Think Tank, was punched by a Chinese national, identified as Liao Kuan-fa, after delivering a speech in Taichung. The KMT legislative caucus secretary-general, Lin Pei-hsiang, had initially suggested the suspect might have mistaken the identity of the victim and urged against pre-judging the situation.

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Don't pre-judge.

However, Huang Ti-ying pointed to statements by Taichung Police Bureau Chief Wu Ching-tien, who detailed that the assailant approached Akio after his speech, confirmed his identity by calling out "Mr. Yaita," and then assaulted him before fleeing. Huang argued this account directly refutes the KMT's narrative of mistaken identity.

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As far as I understand, this man mistook the person.

Police investigations confirmed the suspect, Liao, is from Hong Kong and has a history of participating in activities aimed at suppressing democracy. He was transferred to the Taichung District Prosecutors Office on charges including violations of the Anti-Infiltration Act, public insult, and assault. Huang emphasized that the police's findings regarding the suspect's background in Hong Kong and the use of the Anti-Infiltration Act serve as a strong rebuttal to the KMT's excuses aimed at minimizing Chinese cross-border interference.

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The suspect approached after the speech, confirmed the victim was Yaita, and then assaulted him.