Comedian Huang Yi-hao was involved in a car accident in September, but it turned out to be a deliberate attack
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- In September, comedian Huang Yi-hao was involved in a car accident, something that could happen to anyone. But one thing stood out: the men in the other car were unusually polite, and even offered to cover his medical bills and the damage to his car.
Huang later received a call from Taiwanese police telling him it wasn't an ordinary accident.
Taipei prosecutors in October charged five men for deliberately attempting to injure Huang in a case that has drawn attention across Taiwan. Authorities say it is part of a growing trend where operatives paid by China harass or attack people on the self-ruled island who are seen as critical of the government in Beijing.
“In the beginning, it was verbal harassment, then it morphed to pouring paint and property damage ... to the level of causing a fake car accident," Chiu Shao-Chou, the commissioner of Taiwan's Criminal investigation Bureau, said. "There's a trend of increasing severity, and that's something we have to take seriously.”
Taiwan is a democratic island claimed by Beijing, which hasn't ruled out using force to annex it.
