China yesterday said it would punish and sanction United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for alleged criminal and pro-Taiwanese independence activities.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said in a statement that the Kuma Academy that the men are associated with sought to incite separatism that would endanger cross-straits ties.
Tsao, who advocated for Taiwan’s unification with China while UMC chairman in the early 2000s, has been a vocal critic of Beijing since 2019. In August 2022, he pledged to donate NT$1 billion (US$31.09 million at the current exchange rate) to train 3.3 million civilians, called “Kuma Warriors,” in support of Taiwan’s defense efforts.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Shen helps run Kuma Academy training.
TAO said it would include Tsao and Shen on a list of “Taiwanese independence” diehards and impose sanctions on them and the academy.
The move comes as China yesterday launched fresh military drills around Taiwan. Beijing said the drills were a warning against “separatist acts of Taiwanese independence forces,” while denouncing President William Lai (賴清德) of the DPP.
Tsao and Shen would be barred from traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau, TAO said, while all affiliated enterprises and businesses linked to the pair would not be allowed to “seek profit” in China.
“The Kuma Academy with the support of the DPP authorities and external interference forces, has brazenly cultivated violent Taiwanese independence elements and openly engaged in ‘Taiwanese independence’ separatist activities under the guise of lectures, training, outdoor drills,” the statement quoted TAO spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) as saying.
Shen yesterday called the TAO’s statement a provocation from China, rather than the other way round, and said it reflected Beijing’s great sensitivity towards any civilian defense initiatives in Taiwan.
“They will definitely use the threat of [economic] sanctions to conduct further gray zone warfare against Taiwan,” he said.
Tsao and UMC could not be immediately reached for comment.
Also on the list are premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), former legislative speaker You Si-kun (游錫?), National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌), DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), former New Power Party legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) and DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇).
Additional reporting by staff writer
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