In short:
A Chinese exchange student has been deported from Taiwan after posting a video of himself appearing to pinch the Taiwanese president.
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himself → deport → president
Taiwan's immigration authority says the student violated regulations governing mainland Chinese people's entry into Taiwan.
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student → say → Taiwan
Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation says it hopes the incident will not affect future mainland exchange students to Taiwan.
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incident → say → Taiwan
An exchange student from China has been deported from Taiwan after posting a controversial video of himself using an illusion technique to make it look like he is pinching the Taiwanese president.
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he → deport → president
Lai Ching-te was speaking at the National Taiwan University last week when the student, identified publicly via his surname Wang, filmed the president from the audience.
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student → speak → audience
Wang used an optical illusion technique, forced perspective, and put his fingers in front of the camera so it looked like he was pinching the president.
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he → use → president
In the caption of the video posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, Wang wrote: "Lai Ching-te is right here.
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te → post → TikTok
He also tagged the post with "cross-strait reunification", "oppose separatist acts seeking Taiwan independence" and "reunification is inevitable", in phrases which often appear in Chinese political rhetoric.
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which → tag → rhetoric
Wang has since deleted the video, apologised, and all content on his Douyin account has been cleared.
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content → delete → account
China sees the self-ruled island of Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take it back.
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China → see → it
Labelled as a separatist by Beijing, Mr Lai has repeatedly said the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent country.
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Republic → label → China
On October 16, the National Immigration Agency of Taiwan confirmed the student had been deported after his Taiwan entry permit was revoked.
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permit → confirm → Taiwan
This was due to violating the "principle of equality and dignity", part of regulations governing mainland Chinese people's entry into Taiwan, the agency said.
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agency → violate → Taiwan
The student has been banned from entering Taiwan for five years.
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student → ban → years
"Our country is [a] democratic, free, and pluralistic society, respecting different opinions and normal exchanges; however, people from mainland China coming to Taiwan must still comply with our laws and related regulations," the agency wrote in a statement.
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agency → respect → statement
The National Taiwan University told the ABC the deported student was from a partner university, and it provided all necessary assistance during the authorities' inquiry.
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it → tell → inquiry
"We respect differing opinions on public policies, as rational dialogue is the cornerstone of a democratic society," a university spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → respect → society
"We hope this incident serves as a reminder that the exercise of free speech must always come with mutual respect for others."
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exercise → hope → others
Local media reported that Kuomintang (KMT) politician Lin Pei-hsiang questioned the deportation decision, asking whether deporting the student over a social media post infringed on freedom of speech.
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deporting → report → speech
He suggested that political satire should be differentiated from a real threat.
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satire → suggest → threat
Lo Wen-jia, secretary-general of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation, said he respected the decision of the immigration agency, but he hoped that the incident would not affect future mainland exchange students to Taiwan.
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incident → say → Taiwan
The ABC has approached the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia and the Chinese embassy for comments.
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ABC → approach → comments
The Aporia