The Ministry of Justice yesterday said that it is considering whether the nation should enact legislation to target hate crimes after a shooting targeting the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church last week killed one person and injured five.
The suspect is 68-year-old David Weiwen Chou (周文偉). He was born in Taiwan before emigrating to the US.
He was a member of the National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said. Police found notes in his car expressing his dislike of Taiwanese and indicating that Taiwan should not be an independent state separate from China.
Photo: CNA
Chou is believed to have targeted the Irvine congregation as the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has been supporting Taiwanese independence.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) last week told a news conference in Taipei held by the Presbyterian Church that he would propose legislation to punish hate crimes.
“Many countries have taken similar legal actions to deter hate crimes and hate speech,” Lo said. “The DPP will work with opposition parties to ensure that laws protect people against hate crimes.”
Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) told reporters at the legislature in Taipei that the ministry could begin by reviewing comparable regulations in other nations.
“We will also consult the opinions of legal experts on this matter,” Tsai said. “If the current regulations are deemed to be inadequate to prevent hate crimes, we could consider proposing a new bill.”
Meanwhile, the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning held a memorial service for 52-year-old sports physician John Cheng (鄭達志), who was killed while trying to stop the gunman on May 15.
Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) attended the service on behalf of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
“Cheng voluntarily took the bullet from the suspect and prevented a massacre with his life... His sacrifice is a testimony of the integrity, kindness and bravery of Taiwanese people and will stay in everyone’s heart,” Hsiao wrote on Facebook.
“The suspect resorted to violence and harmful actions simply because of differences in political ideologies, which in comparison seemed fragile and insignificant,” she wote, adding that she has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office to protect Taiwanese expatriates.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS