Recently, mainland Chinese internet celebrity “Yan Dalu”, after traveling to Taiwan last year, has been frequently praising Taiwan’s freedom and democracy on his YouTube videos, openly endorsing Lai Ching-te’s “homeland theory”. His sudden closure of the YouTube channel has sparked concern among many netizens, who are worried that he may have “disappeared” for crossing the red line of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
With over thirty thousand subscribers, the YouTube channel “I am Yan Dalu” suddenly shut down, and all social media accounts disappeared. Many netizens and Chinese YouTube channel bloggers speculate that Yan Dalu may have been “disappeared” due to his comments in the last video upon returning to China.
In the final video, Yan Dalu waved the flag of the Republic of China to celebrate its 113th birthday and expressed his support for ROC President Lai Ching-te’s statement at the National Day celebrations that “The People’s Republic of China is not the homeland of the people of the Republic of China, but rather the Republic of China is the homeland of people over 75 years old of the People’s Republic of China”.
Yan Dalu bluntly stated that the Chinese Communist regime is the one that destroyed the Republic of China, “First seeking independence in Jiangxi, splitting the Republic of China, establishing the Chinese Soviet Republic. Finding itself unable to defeat the ROC army, it voluntarily gave up the national title, returned to the Republic of China. While the national army was engaged in direct combat with the Japanese army, it quietly developed, with three parts propaganda to seven parts resistance, gradually fattening itself. When it was against outsiders, it was unwilling to exert effort, hiding its strength, until when the national army drove the Japanese away and internal strife ensued, it exerted 120% effort, fighting to the end, ultimately succeeding in overturning the ROC’s rule on the mainland.”
He said he was pleased that Lai Ching-te’s “homeland theory” practically demonstrated the relationship between the two sides, “The relationship between the two sides is not that of central and regional authorities, but rather one of equals”.
Yan Dalu also stated that until the People’s Republic of China is democratized, it has no right to claim to be the homeland of all Chinese people, but merely a regime occupying the mainland without the authorization of the people. If the mainland Chinese people were given a choice, whether they would choose the People’s Republic of China or the Republic of China remains a question mark.
He urged Lai Ching-te to “incorporate the connotation of Taiwan independence into the concept of the Republic of China not belonging to the People’s Republic of China, creating a vague safe space of ‘both sides belonging to the Chinese nation’, infiltrating the mainland, and establishing a strategic defense line for Taiwan”.
These comments have attracted attention from netizens both domestically and abroad. Many netizens admire his courage, while also expressing concerns that he may have crossed the CCP’s red line and could face persecution as a result. Therefore, many people advised him not to return to mainland China, but he eventually did.
After news of Yan Dalu’s “disappearance” spread, many netizens expressed sentiments such as, “He only exercised his freedom of speech once in his lifetime. I hope his courage and efforts will shine light on the darkness of the mainland.” “In a country full of lies, honesty is considered a crime.”
Some said, “He only shared his testimony and thoughts and was ‘disappeared’. In contrast, those culprits involved in abduction and chain women incidents face no consequences. Is there still justice? The CCP is truly evil.” “In a country where former chairman Hu Jintao could be taken away and disappeared on the spot, where former Premier Li Keqiang could be killed, who else can be considered safe?”
Others commented, “From his expression, it is clear that he fully understood what his fate would be. He just did not want to live in such a China anymore, so he made a choice, speaking his mind at the end of his life, providing sincere advice to Taiwan.”