Five indicted in New Taipei plot to injure anti-CCP comedian

Comedian Huang Yihao was targeted in a paid assault scheme, New Taipei prosecutors stated in an indictment. Five people now face criminal charges after allegedly taking money from Chinese individuals to harm him.

The New Taipei District prosecutors office filed charges of attempted aggravated assault against the five suspects. Taiwan’s national news agency CNA reported the development on Wednesday.

The suspects allegedly accepted NT$450,000, or about $13,900, from Chinese people to “break arms and legs” of Huang, CNA reported. Huang regularly mocks the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping in his comedy routines.

Huang told CNA that he parked his scooter in an alley last month. A car suddenly swerved toward him, striking both his scooter and his body. He escaped severe injury.

Huang told CNA his initial thought was “could this be the CCP coming after me?” He said the people got out, apologized, and invited him into their vehicle. He declined their offer.

Before that incident, one person installed a tracking device on Huang’s car, according to CNA. That individual monitored his daily life throughout July and August. The motive remains tied to his public speech.

Charges of intimidation endangering public safety and property damage were also filed against two other people, local media reports said. Those two individuals allegedly spread paint and human feces in May outside a comedy club in Taipei where Huang performed.

China claims Taiwan as its territory. The two sides split in 1949 during the civil war that brought the Communists to power in China. The losing Nationalists set up their government in Taiwan.

Huang mocks Xi by comparing him to Winnie the Pooh in a YouTube video clip. He also criticizes Beijing for imposing Hong Kong’s national security law and COVID-19 lockdowns.

“If people are already being treated this way for criticizing the CCP even before it has come to rule Taiwan, how can we possibly expect to retain our current freedom of speech should the CCP ever gain control over Taiwan?”

Huang posted that statement Wednesday on his Facebook page. Political leaders also weighed in on the case.

Fu Kun-chi, convener of the Kuomintang legislative caucus, said no individual should ever face violent threats for their speech. Fu said this principle applies regardless of political views, according to CNA.

A district prosecutors office in Taiwan reviews police evidence to decide whether formal indictments are warranted. Indictments send criminal cases forward to the district court for trial proceedings. Defendants enter pleas before a judge once an indictment is filed.

The five suspects await further court dates in New Taipei. Huang continues his public comedy work.