Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) yesterday accused the opposition parties led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of colluding with pro-China elements to block US arms purchases and undermine the whole-of-society defense program by targeting the Kuma Academy.
Sheng, a co-founder of the Kuma Academy — a nonprofit civil defense organization dedicated to educating and training volunteers — made the remarks at a news conference, saying that he and the academy are being targeted by the KMT, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), and the Chinese Communist Party.
In the past few weeks, a cognitive warfare campaign has been underway, spreading disinformation that he is a US spy, receives funding from US sources through secret channels and owns three properties in the US, Shen said.
Photo: CNA
Taipei City Councilor Hou Han-ting (侯漢廷) of the New Party last week called for an investigation into Shen, saying that he had received financial support from the American Institute in Taiwan to organize a training program. Hou also accused Shen of saying: “If Chinese missiles start flying [toward Taiwan], it would help us quite a lot,” implying that Shen sought to profit from the missile threat.
Shen yesterday dismissed the allegations as baseless, calling them part of a Chinese disinformation campaign, adding that his comment about missiles had been taken out of context.
Shen said he was a professor in criminology, with a research focus on countering disinformation and Chinese propaganda warfare.
He co-founded the Kuma Academy in 2021, and in August 2022, following a visit to Taipei by then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi as Beijing conducted joint military exercises, including missile drills around Taiwan.
“These incidents made the public realize China’s hostile intent and animosity toward Taiwan, and helped people understand the importance of all-civilian defense,” Shen said.
“As a result, Kuma Academy gained attention, and more businesses donated money to support its programs. However, Hou distorted this by claiming that I was using Chinese missile threats to make a profit, which is simply ridiculous,” he added.
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