Li Yi, a former Chinese university professor, took to social media to praise President Trump for the successful military raid in Venezuela and criticized Beijing for failing to conduct a similar operation against Taiwan.
Mr. Li, an outspoken influencer who in the past called on China to invade Taiwan and favors global Chinese imperialism, stated in a post on X that Mr. Trump used the techniques of ancient strategist Sun Tzu against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The U.S. military in Venezuela followed the dictum that “if you want to catch a thief, catch their king first. It is brilliant,” Mr. Li said, quoting Sun’s “The Art of War.”
To Beijing, Mr. Li then said: “You need to learn quickly. You can’t even catch the Taiwanese president. And yet you mocked Trump. You are so shameless.”
“How long have you been f——— around with Taiwan without doing anything? Can’t even unify China,” he said.
Mr. Yi, 64, is a U.S.-educated sociologist who was a researcher at China’s Renmin University and director of the Taiwan Research Institute at Fuzhou University.
A dissident overseas Chinese social media outlet, The Great Translation Movement, which reposted Mr. Li’s video rant, said he was taken into custody by Chinese authorities for his comments.
Other reports from Taiwan say Mr. Li is outside of China and possibly living in the U.S
He could not be reached for comment.
