Prosecutors in Taiwan say a Hong Kong triad crew was paid to publicly beat a Japanese think-tank chief in Taichung — a case they call cross-border repression aimed at scaring people out of speaking freely.

• A Hong Kong gang member has been charged with punching Akio Yaita, head of an Indo-Pacific strategy think tank, in a hotel lobby in July.
• Four accomplices fled Taiwan before and after the attack and are now wanted.
• Prosecutors say a financier using a false name hired the crew specifically to beat Yaita in public, during an event where he was speaking, to intimidate critics.
• The men came from two Hong Kong triad societies, with an assault-for-hire price list and a six-figure Hong Kong dollar payment for the final hit.
• Prosecutors are asking for a heavy sentence, arguing the goal was to make an example of Yaita and frighten others into silence.

Outlook: Taiwanese prosecutors are still hunting the person who ordered the attack and any local helpers, while the four escaped suspects remain at large abroad.