Key facts
- Five people indicted for plotting to injure comedian Huang Yi-hao.
- The alleged plot aimed to suppress opposing political views through violence.
- Huang Yi-hao's shows have satirized Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- A Chinese individual identified as 'K' allegedly paid for the attack.
- The attackers were paid to cause serious injury, but Huang was only lightly injured.
Taiwanese prosecutors on Wednesday indicted five individuals accused of plotting to injure comedian Huang Yi-hao, whose performances have included satire of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Prosecutors in New Taipei stated that a Chinese individual, identified only as 'K,' paid another man to ensure Huang was seriously injured by being run over with a car. The alleged goal was to prevent Huang from performing, though he sustained only minor injuries last month. Huang confirmed on Facebook that he had briefly mentioned Xi and questioned the future of free speech in Taiwan if the Chinese Communist Party were to rule. Taiwan's government views such actions as transnational repression by Beijing.