Members of 60 civic organizations on Friday issued a statement calling for a pro-unification group linked to a shooting at a church in California last week to be labeled a terrorist organization.
Five members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church congregation were injured and one killed when a man who has been linked to the Las Vegas branch of the China-based Chinese for Peaceful Unification — a group advocating for the unification of Taiwan and China — entered a meeting of Geneva Presbyterian Church members and allegedly began shooting.
A group of 60 organizations led by the Asia-Pacific Liberal Women Association issued the statement urging Taiwanese around the world to push their respective governments to label Chinese for Peaceful Unification a terrorist organization.
Photo: CNA
The statement urged the central government to immediately investigate groups within Taiwan believed to have links to the organization, and to “deal with them strictly” in accordance with the National Security Act (國家安全法).
“We must keep Taiwanese safe and prevent the spread of hatred,” the statement said.
“This shooting stemmed from the Chinese Communist Party repeatedly provoking hatred toward the Taiwanese people within Taiwan and among Chinese communities globally,” it added.
China is using the unification group to attempt to intimidate Taiwanese around the world, and to prevent Taiwanese from pursuing freedom and democracy, it said.
Chinese for Peaceful Unification — which shooting suspect David Wenwei Chou (周文偉), 68, was a reportedly member of — was identified by the US Department of State as being under the administration of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, the statement said, adding that this means the organization is a threat to Taiwanese and should be labeled as such.
“We mourn the loss of Dr John Cheng (鄭達志) to this shooting, and we hope Taiwanese everywhere can unite at this difficult time to protect Taiwan’s freedoms for the next generation,” it said.
The statement also raised concerns over the High Court’s acquittal of New Party spokesman Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠) on espionage charges, asking how the court could have recognized Wang’s involvment in organizations with ties to the Chinese government without deeming him a national security threat.
“If we just wait for another shooting to occur, if we just let these groups sow division within Taiwanese society, isn’t that a national security threat?” the statement asked.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS