Man suspected of assaulting Japanese CEO of Taipei think tank arrested

Taichung, July 6 (CNA) Police in Taichung have arrested a man suspected of assaulting Taipei-based Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank CEO Akio Yaita shortly after he delivered a lecture at a local hotel on Monday.

The suspect was arrested at Taichung International Airport at around 4 p.m. after investigators tracked him through surveillance footage and determined that he was attempting to leave the country, police said.

Police said the motive for the assault remains under investigation. After questioning, the suspect will be transferred to the Taichung District Prosecutors Office, with police recommending that prosecutors seek his detention.

Yaita, a native of Japan and former journalist who holds Republic of China (Taiwan) citizenship, had been invited by the Spring Rain Foundation to speak at a workshop held at Tempus Hotel. The assault occurred after the event.

According to the foundation, staff accompanied him to a hospital for treatment after the assault before reporting the incident to police.

Speaking to reporters outside the police station where he gave his account of what happened, Yaita said he was talking on his mobile phone in the hotel lobby when a man dressed in black approached him, said something unintelligible, punched him in the face and fled.

The attack left him with cuts to his lips, he said.

Yaita said hotel staff told him the suspect had been seen around the premises on both Sunday and Monday, suggesting the assault may have been premeditated.

Yaita said that his opinions may anger some people, but violence should not be tolerated, and he called for a thorough investigation to prevent people from using violence and intimidation to suppress freedom of speech.

Shih Chih-chang (施志昌), chairman of the Spring Rain Foundation and a Taichung City councilor from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), condemned the assault, saying that attempting to silence someone with violence is "the worst provocation against democracy and freedom."