The rare move comes at a time of heightened cross-strait tensions and increasing suspicions of Chinese influence operations on the democratic island.

Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency (NIA), which revoked the influencer’s visa, said that her “behaviour advocates the elimination of Taiwan’s sovereignty and is not tolerated in Taiwanese society”.

The influencer, identified by authorities with her surname Liu, had relocated from mainland China to Taiwan on a dependent visa after marrying a Taiwanese man.

Liu has until 24 March to leave Taiwan before she is forcibly deported, local media reported.

She would not be able to apply for another dependent visa for five years, according to an NIA statement on Saturday.

It is extremely rare for the authorities to expel Chinese spouses of Taiwanese citizens.

Liu, better known on social media as Yaya in Taiwan, regularly posts pro-Beijing commentary videos with her young daughter.

In the videos, Liu refers to the island as “Taiwan province” and echoes China’s state narrative that Taiwan is “an inseparable part of China”.

China claims the self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory, and has not ruled out the use of force over it. Taiwan, however, sees itself as distinct from China.

“The complete unification of the motherland is a necessity, regardless of what the Taiwanese people want,” Liu said in one video on Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, where she has 480,000 followers.

“Peaceful unification is much harder than unification by force,” she added. “It depends on what choices the Taiwanese people make.”

As criticism against her videos mounted, Liu posted on Douyin in February that she “would never back down”.

She later said that she was “trying to promote the good on both sides” through her videos and “eliminate the chasm between people”.

“I’m just analysing objectively and sharing my own views,” she said. “Those pushing for Taiwan independence … are the ones causing real harm to Taiwanese society.”

Her remarks have sparked condemnation from Taiwan’s leaders, with interior minister Liu Shyh-fang saying that freedom of speech was “not an excuse” to call for the invasion of Taiwan.

Liu is among360,000 mainland Chinese spouses living in Taiwan, whose activities have been increasingly scrutinised amid heightening cross-strait tensions.

In a slate of measures announced last week to curb Chinese influence and infiltration on the island, Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te called for tighter control of cross-strait exchanges, which he said were seen by China as a way to “create internal divisions” in Taiwan.

He said Taiwan had “no choice but to take even more proactive measures” as a result, as he announced a raft of new national security measures, including reinstating a military court system and tightening the residency criteria for those from China, Hong Kong and Macau.

In response to Lai’s remarks, Chinese authorities called him a “destroyer of cross-straits peace” and a “creator of crisis”.

China claims the self-ruled Taiwan as its territory but Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland.

China was quick to respond to Lai’s statement, with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said China would have “no choice but to take decisive measures… [if] ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces dare to cross the red line”.

“Those who play with fire will surely be burned.”

This is not the first time Lai, whose Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is seen as pro-independence, has incurred Beijing’s wrath. He was previously labelled a “troublemaker” ahead of the polls, and Chinese state media even suggested he should be prosecuted for secession.

Speaking to reporters after a high-level national security meeting on Thursday, Lai also warned of China’s growing espionage efforts.

President Lai said China had “taken advantage of Taiwan’s freedom” to recruit different members of society, including current and former armed force members, organised crime groups and the media to “divide, destroy and subvert us from within”.

Taiwanese authorities charged 64 people with spying for China last year – a three-fold increase from 2021 – Lai claimed, adding that the majority of them were current or former military officials.

To counter China’s attempts to infiltrate and spy on the military, Lai said he planned to restore the military court system to “allow military judges to return to the frontline… to handle criminal cases involving active-duty military personnel”.

Taiwan had in 2013 abolished the military court system after it came under fire for its opaque handling of the death of an army conscript.

Lai also called on authorities to “provide entertainers with guidelines on conduct while working in China”, adding that this would prevent China from pressuring stars to behave in ways that “endanger national dignity”.

His comments come as Taiwanese authorities earlier criticised Taiwanese celebrities who shared social media posts calling for Taiwan to be “returned” to China.

Taiwanese actors and singers looking to advance their careers in China’s lucrative entertainment industry have come also under increasing pressure to publicly adopt a pro-Beijing stance on the issue.

Darren Wang, who shot to fame for his breakout role in the 2015 teen rom-com Our Times, allegedly used forged medical documents to try to get a military service exemption, according to local news outlets.

All men in Taiwan have to undergo compulsory military service for one year. The government raised this from four months in 2022, citing growing threats from mainland China.

Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland, but China sees the self-ruled island as a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing’s control.

News of the 33-year-old Wang’s alleged military evasion had earlier sparked debate on Chinese social media with some Taiwanese netizens accusing him of evading his duties, and others asking him to “become a citizen [of the People’s Republic of China]”.

Wang is popular in the Chinese mainland, and has previously referred to it as the “motherland”.

Wang was arrested at his home on 18 February and taken for questioning by police before being released on bail.

Local news reports said he was under investigation for the alleged forgery of a medical document, with Taiwan’s Central News Agency saying that “relevant evidence” had been seized from his home.

He was released on bail, but was later investigated again for his suspected involvement in an attempted murder case after police reportedly discovered incriminating messages on his phone.

Wang was taken into custody again in March for this, and was later released on bail.

He is still under investigation for both charges.

On Thursday, Wang joined more than 1,000 other recruits at the Chenggong Ling military camp in Taichung city.

They will undergo weeks of basic training before being transferred to a specialised unit.

All men over the age of 18 in Taiwan are required to serve in the army – though deferments can be granted in certain cases. However, all men are required to serve in the military by the time they turn 36.

In the 1990s, men were required to serve in the military for up to three years, this was over the next few decades gradually shortened, before being reduced to four months.

However, then president Tsai Ing-wen had in 2022 said this would be extended to a year amid growing tensions with China.

Taiwan is on the frontline of authoritarian expansion,” she had then said, adding that conscripts will also undergo more intense training, borrowing some elements from the US and other advanced militaries.

China said the revision “sends a wrong… signal to separatist forces advocating for Taiwan independence”, and asked the US to “correct its mistakes”.

The department’s fact sheet on Taiwan-US relations earlier included the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” – this was removed last week as part of what it said was a “routine” update.

A US spokesperson was quoted as saying that it remains committed to the “One China” policy, it said, where US recognises and has formal ties with China rather than Taiwan.

China sees self-governed Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of the country, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this.

But many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation, although most are in favour of maintaining the status quo where Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.

As well as dropping the phrase, the factsheet, which was updated last Thursday, also says the US will support Taiwan’s membership in international organisations “where applicable”.

Commenting on the changes, a spokesperson at the American Institute in Taiwan – the US’ de facto embassy on the island – told local media that the fact sheet had been “updated to inform the general public about [the US’] unofficial relationship with Taiwan”.

“We have long stated that we oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side.”

On Sunday, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung thanked the US for what he called “positive, Taiwan-friendly wordings”.

But in their regular press conference on Monday, Beijing’s foreign ministry slammed the move, calling the revision a “serious regression” in the US’ stance on Taiwan.

“This sends a wrong and serious signal to separatist forces advocating for Taiwan independence and is another example of the U.S. stubbornly persisting with its wrong policy of using Taiwan to contain China,” said Chinese spokesperson Guo Jiakun.

“We urge the US to immediately correct its mistakes [and] earnestly adhere to the One China principle.”

The Chinese aircraft included fighter jets and drones and were spotted on Sunday carrying out “joint combat readiness patrols” with military vessels around Taiwan, the ministry said in a statement.

China’s military radioed the Canadian frigate transiting through the Taiwan Strait and warned it to change course, Taiwan media reported.

The Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa was the first Canadian naval vessel to transit the waterway this year, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Its transit came days after two United States ships, a naval destroyer and survey ship, made the passage.

The US and its allies regularly pass through the 180km (112-mile) Taiwan Strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway, angering China.

The US destroyer and ocean survey ship travelled through the strait starting on Monday, drawing criticism from China’s military, which said it sent the “wrong signal and increased security risks”.

Data published by the Taiwan Defence Ministry showed 62 Chinese military aircraft were detected near the island in the 48 hours until 6am on Wednesday (22:00 GMT on Tuesday), coinciding with the US ships’ transit.

Washington’s latest passage through the Taiwan Strait was the first time since US President Donald Trump took office in January.

It came after Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said they “opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo [in the Taiwan Strait] by force or coercion”.

The  US, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer and provides military aid to the island to help it maintain its defence capabilities.

While Trump has unnerved Taiwan since taking office with criticism of Taiwan’s dominance in making semiconductors, his administration has also offered strong words of support.

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over the island and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. Taiwan says it is an independent country called the Republic of China.

Beijing describes Taiwan as its “core of core interests”, regularly denouncing any show of support for Taipei from Washington.

On Thursday, the US Department of State removed a statement on its website that said it does not support Taiwan’s independence.

A reference was also added to the webpage about Taiwan’s cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project, and it says the US will support Taiwan’s membership in international organisations “where applicable”.

One of the biggest stars in the Mandarin-speaking world, Hsu became a familiar face even in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand after Meteor Garden was dubbed in local languages.

“I can’t believe it,” read one comment on Chinese social media platform Weibo, echoing the sentiments of millions of shocked fans who have been paying tribute.

She is believed to have fallen ill while visiting Japan. Her sister, Dee Hsu, confirmed her death to Taiwan’s TVBS News on Monday.

“During the Lunar New Year, our family came to Japan for vacation. My dearest sister Barbie has unfortunately left us after getting pneumonia, triggered by influenza,” Dee Hsusaid in a statement shared by her manager.

Hsu, who had a history of epilepsy and heart disease, was hospitalised previously due to seizures.

She leaves behind her husband, South Korean singer DJ Koo, and two children from an earlier marriage.

She and her ex-husband, Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei, were married for 10 years, before an acrimonious divorce in 2021.

Hsu began her career at 17, as part of a pop duo with her sister Dee. They became famous as TV hosts, known for their animated style and sense of humour.

But it was Meteor Garden, a TV adaptation of a 1990s Japanese comic of the same name, that turned Hsu into a star whose fame stretched beyond Chinese entertainment.

In the drama, Hsu played Shancai, a teen from a middle-class family who attends an elite private school and finds herself entangled in a love web with the heirs of wealthy families.

Her four male co-stars in Meteor Garden would later form the Taiwanese boyband F4, one of the most popular Mandopop groups of the 2000s.

On Monday, F4 member Ken Chu shared a black, empty screen as well as a group photo with Hsu on Instagram. Then on Weibo, he wrote: “What a bolt from the blue.”

After Meteor Garden, Hsu starred in more than a dozen TV shows and movies, including popular romantic dramas like Corner With Love and Summer’s Desire.

She took a break from acting in 2012, but continued to appear in reality shows.

Aya Liu, a host and long-time friend of the Hsu sisters, wrote on Weibo that she had met Hsu at a gathering last month, where they had promised to meet more often.

“I didn’t think that would be our last gathering,” Liu wrote. “Rest in peace, the most beautiful queen.”

Hsu was the top trending topic on Weibo on Monday. “She was only 48 years old… this is too sudden. This is a little difficult to accept,” read one comment.

Posts about influenza in Japan were also trending as fans tried to understand how she had fallen sick.

When Meteor Garden aired in the 2000s, at a time when Taiwanese shows and music dominated pop culture in the region, the modern, high-school take on Cinderella was a hit.

Young women took fashion inspiration from Hsu’s Shancai and swooned over F4. The floppy hairstyles sported by the male leads were plastered on walls in hair salons, as young men across South East Asia and East Asia tried to emulate the look.

In the Philippines, a local broadcaster reportedly aired the entire series eight times to satisfy fan demand. Bootleg copies of the series were also sold at roadside stalls.

Meteor Garden’s theme songs were released in other languages, quickly becoming hits on the radio and on TV.

More than 20 years on, the show’s popularity has endured even as remakes attracted new fans. It has inspired versions in Japan, South Korea, China and India.

On social media, tributes to Hsu have poured in from across the region, from Chinese users on Weibo, to Southeast Asian fans on X, to Meta’s Threads, which is particularly popular in Taiwan.

“Big S has always been a part of my youth,” wrote one fan on Threads, referring to Hsu by her nickname.

An X user wrote: “Meteor Garden raised an entire generation of Asians. Thank you Barbie Hsu for giving life to Shancai.”

Ko was indicted by prosecutors on Thursday following probes into alleged corruption in the redevelopment of a shopping centre in Taipei during his time as mayor of the Taiwanese capital and campaign finance irregularities during his 2024 presidential run.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office said in a statement that it was seeking a sentence of 28 and a half years in prison for Ko, who is accused of accepting T$17.1 million ($522,392) in bribes and embezzling donations of more than T$68 million.

Prosecutors also announced charges against several members of Ko’s Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) over the misuse of political donations.

Ko, who served as mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022, previously denied wrongdoing in a real estate development case following his arrest in August, though he acknowledged the misreporting of campaign funds.

A Taipei court ruled the following month that Ko, a surgeon by training, should be released from custody as prosecutors had not met the standard of there being a “high possibility” he committed a crime.

Ko who came third in January’s presidential election with about 27 percent of the vote, had been widely seen as a contender for the presidency in 2028.

The TPP, which Ko co-founded in 2019, holds eight seats in the 113-member Legislative Yuan.

The party has worked with the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang to pass a series of controversial legal changes that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party says are aimed at restricting President William Lai Ching-te’s ability to govern the island.

A statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday urged the US to stop its “dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.

China which has ramped up political and military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, has repeatedly called for the US to cease sending arms and assistance to Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

The US does not officially recognise Taiwan diplomatically, but it is the self-ruled island’s strategic ally and largest supplier of weapons.

On Friday, the White House said the outgoing Biden administration had authorised up to $571.3m in defence assistance to Taiwan.

While the White House statement did not provide details of the package, it came less than three months after a $567m aid was announced.

“This move gravely infringes on China’s sovereignty and security interests,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, adding it “firmly opposes this action”. China “has lodged stern representations with the US at the earliest opportunity”, it added.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said such actions by the US “contradict its leaders’ serious commitments” to not supporting “Taiwan ‘s independence”.

“We demand that the US immediately cease arming Taiwan and handle the Taiwan issue with the utmost caution,” said the Chinese office’s spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

In October, the US approved $2bn in arms sales to Taiwan, including the first-time delivery of an advanced surface-to-air missile defence system, drawing China’s criticism and war drills by its army around Taiwan.

Taiwan earlier this month demanded that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said undermined peace and stability and disrupted international shipping and trade.

US President-elect Donald Trump has said he would not commit to defending Taiwan if China were to invade during his presidency. Trump has also said Taiwan should pay the US for defending it against China, likening the relationship to insurance.

In a statement on Monday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said it launched combat readiness drills and set up an emergency centre “factoring in enemy threats” in response to Beijing’s latest moves.

A Taipei security source told the Reuters news agency that China currently has nearly 90 navy and coastguard ships in waters near Taiwan, the southern Japanese islands and the East and South China Seas, of which about two-thirds are navy vessels.

In a statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning pledged that China will “firmly defend” its sovereignty and “territorial integrity”, adding that Taiwan was an “inalienable” part of China.

Since the weekend, Taipei has been flagging the presence of 14 Chinese warships, seven military aircraft and at least four balloons, amid speculations of a possible military drill by Beijing.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said six of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial demarcation zone between Taiwan and China. One of the balloons also brushed over the island’s northern tip, it added.

On Monday, Taiwan said China had set up seven zones of reserved airspace to the east of its eastern Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.

Such zones are temporarily reserved and allocated for a particular user during a set period, though other flights can pass through with permission from controllers, according to international rules.

Any unilateral and irrational, provocative actions could seriously damage peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and that will not be welcomed by the international community,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said.

Tensions have escalated in recent days following Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te’s recent visit to Pacific allies, which included stops in the United States state of Hawaii and its territory of Guam.

China claims Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy of 23 million people, as its own territory, and bristles at other countries’ formal exchanges with Taiwan.

It has also pledged to annex Taiwan, through military force if necessary, sending ships and military planes near the island almost on a daily basis.

The US, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as a country but is its main unofficial backer and sells it arms.

On Friday, Taiwan’s Lai urged China to refrain from making threats.“Raising your fists is not as good as opening your hands,” Lai added.

“No matter how many military exercises, warships and aircraft China sends to coerce neighbouring countries, it cannot win the respect of any country.”

Taiwan faces the constant threat of a military attack by China and relies heavily on US arms sales to boost its defences.

Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the visa of Xu Wei, a Chinese envoy, had been cancelled. The country gave him 24 hours to leave, declaring him persona non grata.

Xu allegedly told lawmakers that they must choose between relations with Taiwan and China after a surprise appearance at Paraguay’s Congress.

He had been in the country to attend an annual conference for UNESCO, the United Nations body for international cooperation in culture, sciences and the arts.

“This gentleman had a parallel agenda. He came to do internal politics that were not appropriate,” said Juan Baiardi, the deputy minister of administration and technical affairs for Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry.

Paraguay is part of a dwindling number of countries that maintain diplomatic relations with the self-governing island of Taiwan.

China, which claims the territory of Taiwan as its own, requires countries to choose between recognition of Taiwan and maintaining ties with its government in Beijing. Only 12 countries choose to recognise Taiwan — and Paraguay is the only one to do so in South America.

On Wednesday, Xu skipped the UNESCO meeting and instead met with officials in Paraguay’s capital of Asuncion, where he called on lawmakers to ditch Taiwan and bolster ties with China.

“It is either China or Taiwan,” he said. “I recommend that the government of Paraguay make a correct decision as soon as possible.”

Xu added that relations with China would come with increased opportunities for trade, along with “thousands of other advantages”.

Speaking to the press afterwards, Xu repeated his argument that forging diplomatic ties with China, instead of Taiwan, would pay economic dividends.

“Currently, there is almost no direct trade or exports from Paraguay to China,” he said. “It’s a great shame. Paraguayans are giving away their profits to intermediaries. But with diplomatic relations with China, you can earn more.”

As countries like Brazil and Argentina enjoy robust exports of products such as beef and soybeans to China, some members of Paraguay’s Congress have suggested that making the switch could be beneficial.

In recent years, a number of Latin American countries — including Honduras, Panama, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador — have cut ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing, whose influence in the region has expanded alongside trade agreements that offer lucrative access to its huge markets.

Xu urged Paraguay’s officials to likewise choose China over Taiwan, saying the matter cannot be negotiated.

“It is not an option to choose both China and Taiwan. No, it’s ‘or’. Either China or Taiwan,” Xu said. “In my case, I recommend that the government of Paraguay make the right decision as soon as possible.”

For its part, Taiwan has reacted angrily to Chinese efforts to roll back its diplomatic recognition abroad, and it responded forcefully to Xu’s petition in Paraguay.

“He infiltrated Paraguay with an unknown purpose, to undermine the firm friendship between Paraguay and Taiwan,” the Taiwanese embassy in the country said in a social media post.