TAIPEI, Taiwan—A Chinese social media influencer was recently stripped of her long-term residency permit over remarks deemed a threat to the island’s national security and social stability, according to Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency (NIA).

The NIA said on Jan. 19 that it had concluded an interagency investigation into the Chinese content creator, known online as “Guan Guan,” over her “controversial remarks.” After allowing her to present her explanation, the agency decided to revoke her residency permit and ordered her to leave Taiwan.

Before the NIA took steps to enforce its decision, Guan Guan voluntarily left Taiwan in mid-January, the agency said.

Guan Guan is known for her pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remarks in her content on Douyin, the Chinese version of video-sharing app TikTok. According to her Jan. 14 video, Guan Guan has divorced her husband, who is Taiwanese.

In another video dated Jan. 14, Guan Guan, speaking in Mandarin, accuses the Taiwanese Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang of being a “separatist” who has chosen to “persecute” her over the NIA’s decision.

“Taiwan is not a country, and it will never be a country,” Guan Guan says in the video, according to a translation. “I hope for unification soon.”

The CCP regards Taiwan as part of its territory to be “reunified” with the mainland, despite never having governed the self-governing island. The regime has labeled Taiwanese leaders—including President Lai Ching‑te—as “separatists” for their vocal support of the island’s sovereignty.

In China, Peng Qing’en, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, issued a statement on Jan. 21 criticizing Taiwan’s ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party, saying Guan Guan’s case highlights its efforts to “suppress and bully” Chinese spouses in Taiwan, according to a translation.

In response to Peng’s comment, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), a government agency that handles cross-strait affairs, issued a statement on Jan. 21 saying that China has no right to interfere when Taiwan is enforcing its laws, according to the Taiwanese state media Central News Agency.

The MAC added that only a very small number of Chinese spouses in Taiwan have posted online comments, such as supporting Chinese military attacks on Taiwan, while the vast majority have chosen to live peacefully in Taiwan and contribute to Taiwanese society.

“The Taiwan Affairs Office deliberately projects the illegal and inappropriate actions of a tiny minority onto the entire mainland spouse community in Taiwan, attempting to divide and fracture Taiwanese society. This approach is what truly bullies and harms the mainland spouses who are striving to live a normal life in Taiwan,” the MAC stated, according to a translation.

On Jan. 22, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party expressed support for the NIA decision in a Facebook post.

“Taiwan is a democratic society that guarantees freedom of speech, but freedom of speech has never been meant to be used to destroy democracy itself,” the party wrote, according to a translation.

“In the face of China’s long-term infiltration and cognitive warfare, Taiwan must draw a clear line: discussion of political systems is allowed, but political actions that advocate the elimination of Taiwan as an entity cannot be tolerated. Only by doing so can Taiwan truly safeguard its freedom and sovereignty.”

Guan Guan is not an isolated case, as the Lai administration took similar actions against other Chinese spouses last year.

On Dec. 5, the National Immigration Agency announced that a Chinese spouse named Qian Li had voluntarily left Taiwan after the agency revoked her family-based residency permit because of online remarks in which she advocated for the CCP’s armed annexation of Taiwan, according to the Central News Agency.

Chung Yuan contributed to this report.