Chinese influencer "Yaya" is leaving Taiwan, after her residency permit was revoked over social media videos that immigration officials said advocated unification of Taiwan and China by force. Earlier in the day, she protested the decision asking her to leave Taiwan by midnight on Wednesday. She was met by around 100 counter-protestors, who shouted at her to "go back to China."
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00:00A tumultuous day for this Chinese influencer who's leaving Taiwan for China
00:04after the government revoked her residency permit over controversial videos she posted on social media.
00:10Before boarding her flight in Taipei, she made one last statement.
00:30Earlier in the day, the influencer, known as Yaya, remained reluctant to leave.
00:59publicly protesting the government's decision.
01:05Waiting for her there were around a hundred counter-protesters,
01:09who shouted at her to go back to China.
01:20In her videos, immigration officials say Yaya advocated for the unification of Taiwan and China
01:26by force. By doing so, officials said she broke the law by threatening Taiwan's national security
01:32and social stability, and have ordered her to leave Taiwan by midnight on Wednesday.
01:37But just hours before that deadline, the influencer maintained she never made those kinds of statements.
01:56In his first public appearance, Yaya's Taiwanese husband joined her in front of
02:07the Ministry of Interior, which oversees immigration matters, asking the government
02:11to reverse its decision.
02:33But only meters away, counter-protesters upset with Yaya's videos
02:37tried to break past barriers to get to her, clashing with police.
03:08The scene goes to show just how controversial this case has become in Taiwan.
03:17Among the protesters, there was even one from China.
03:26Some have questioned the decision on the basis of free speech, but officials have hit back,
03:31maintaining that Yaya's comments have harmed Taiwan's national security
03:35and are not within the bounds of protected speech.
03:38With Yaya's departure, she will not be able to apply for another permit to live in Taiwan for
04:03five years unless a court rules in favor of her appeal against the government's decision,
04:07which is still pending.
04:09It's also unclear how this will affect her family, her husband and three children,
04:13still in Taiwan.