The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) on Monday called on the US to label organizations associated with the suspect in the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church shooting as domestic terrorists, following accusations that he was a member of a group backing unification with ties to the Chinese government.
David Wenwei Chou (周文偉), 68, was arrested on Sunday and is being held in lieu of US$1 million bail at the Orange County Intake Release Center over a mass shooting at the California church that left one dead and five wounded.
Local police suspect the shooting was politically motivated after they found notes in Chou’s car indicating that he did not believe Taiwan should be an independent state separate from China.
Photo: Reuters
Internet users have accused Chou of involvement in Las Vegas Chinese for Peaceful Unification, a semi-official organization of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with branches in several countries.
An April 3, 2019, report on the media platform Las Vegas Chinese News Network said that Chou attended the founding ceremony of the group and was an outspoken supporter of former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) during Han’s presidential campaign.
A picture published with the report showed Chou holding up a banner calling for the “annihilation of separatist demons.”
Photo: AP
Group founder Gu Yawen (顧雅文) yesterday told the China Review News Agency that Chou did attend the 2019 founding ceremony, but had seemed “too radical” to her and had not attended group events since the second half of 2019.
FAPA president Minze Chien (簡明子) said that FAPA members were “shocked and horrified by this horrific shooting.”
FAPA is a “Taiwanese-American organization that promotes freedom, human rights and democracy for the people of Taiwan,” Chien said.
Photo: AFP
“We strongly condemn this act of cowardice in the strongest terms possible. We, therefore, urge the authorities to prosecute this heinous crime as a politically motivated hate crime, and label any groups he was affiliated with as domestic terrorists,” FAPA said.
Chou was born in Taiwan in 1953 and raised there before emmigrating to the US, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles Director-General Louis Huang (黃敏境) said on Monday, adding that the man who was killed and the five injured were also Taiwanese-Americans.
The victim has been identified as 52-year-old doctor John Cheng (鄭達志). He leaves behind a wife and two children.
In Taipei, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) condemns all forms of violence, and expressed her condolences to Cheng’s family and hoped for the fast recovery of the wounded.
Chang said the president had asked Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who is based in Washington, to visit California soon to express the government’s willingness to offer assistance to the families of the victims.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster
RSS