A pro-Beijing influencer wanted in Taiwan for fraud has declared a fake campaign for a post that has not existed for decades — a stunt that mostly shows how thin his online following has become.

• Ying Chih-hung livestreamed himself cutting up his Taiwanese passport and ID last year and said he was becoming a Chinese citizen.
• Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said his household registration and passport had already been cancelled because he took a Chinese ID, which breaks the law.
• He is a wanted man in Taiwan over fraud and money laundering, and fled the country in 2021.
• His new "platform" calls for surrendering Taiwan to Beijing and locking up opposition-party lawmakers, which drew ridicule rather than support.
• Taiwan scrapped the provincial government and elected governor post in 1997, so the office he claims to be running for does not exist.

Outlook: The stunt is likely a bid to revive collapsing viewer numbers, and he cannot return to Taiwan without facing arrest.