Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) shows “close affinity” with an enemy state and is ignorant on defense matters, Robert Tsao (曹興誠) said after Ko criticized the tycoon’s plan to develop “civilian warriors.”
Tsao, who founded semiconductor maker United Microelectronics Corp, this month announced he would donate NT$3 billion (US$97.1 million) to bolster Taiwan’s defenses against the threat of a Chinese invasion, with plans to train civilians.
Among Tsao’s plans were NT$600 million to fund the Kuma Academy in Taipei to set up local militia units — or “black bear warriors” (黑熊戰士) — training them in combat tactics, guerrilla warfare, cognitive warfare and first aid.
Photo: CNA
Ko compared the concept of “black bear warriors” to fighters in the 1899-1901 Boxer Rebellion during late stages of China’s Qing Dynasty.
The rebellion was a movement of militia groups who sought to expel outsiders, but this led to more foreign troops being sent to China and a ruinous war, Tsao said.
Some of the Boxer groups believed they were impervious to bullets and other means of attack.
Ko said that the irrational beliefs of Boxer soldiers and their slogans calling for foreigners to be expelled were useless, and questioned the proposal to train “black bear warriors,” asking where the weapons and ammunition would come from.
“It is sad for Taiwan that the mayor of its capital city is so ignorant, lacking understanding about military defense,” Tsao said.
“Mayor Ko has mocked our programs to create a civilian defense network, to defend Taiwan from China. He calls them useless,” Tsao said. “He has shown he has a close affinity for the enemy state and works to undermine the will of Taiwanese to defend the nation, to fight against the Chinese military.”
“It is unbelievable that Ko would compare black bear warriors to Boxer militants,” Tsao said.
“People should know that the Chinese Boxers were uneducated rural people swayed by religious leaders to take up arms,” he said. “They killed foreigners in China, prompting worldwide condemnation and leading to an eight-nation alliance that invaded China to rescue their compatriots.”
“Mayor Ko’s comparison shows his ignorance and malicious intent,” he said. “In his mind, it would be useless for Taiwan’s military and civilians to resist a Chinese invasion.”
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