The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday criticized Kuma Academy for pricing its disaster prevention kit at NT$1,380 (US$46.59), calling the kit a luxury item that the organization is using to capitalize on escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Kuma Academy is a nonprofit civil defense organization which aims to “prepare a pre-war mentality for civilians” and “cultivate self-defense capability and a will to defend Taiwan,” according to the group’s Web site.
It was cofounded by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋).
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
KMT think tank deputy director Ling Tao (凌濤) yesterday said that Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) in January admitted to sending directives to the National Police Agency to set aside a budget of NT$22.18 million for non-governmental organizations, such as Kuma Academy and the Forward Alliance — a community-based organization dedicated to Taiwan’s security — to hold training courses for civilians.
These funds would only be able to purchase 16,000 kits from Kuma Academy, but if sourced elsewhere, could be used to buy goods that would provide kits for 74,000 citizens, Ling said.
Ling said that the DPP’s “anti-communist” stance has been thoroughly crushed, citing the examples of DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming’s (柯建銘) son doing business in China and that one of the members of the board at his company is a high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Shen’s father and family also have businesses in China, and this connection makes Shen, who serves on the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, the weakest link in Taiwan’s national security, Ling said, adding that Shen’s background ironically conforms with his characterization of fifth-column forces, and those who aid and abet the CCP.
In response, Su Tzu-yu (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told a news conference that a series of attacks on Kuma Academy and its marketing of the emergency kits have the marks of focused disinformation campaign by enemy forces, since China would be the main beneficiary from maligning the academy’s work.
“There are different emergency kits for people to choose from, depending on their needs ... but it is clear that Kuma Academy, and Shen as its cofounder, have come under attack, targeted by the ‘cognitive warfare’ of outside forces,” DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) said.
Disaster prevention kits are not just to prepare for war, but also for natural disasters, he said.
Taiwan can learn from Japan, where they have stores with a section for emergency food, handheld solar-powered chargers, blankets and radios that can be charged by hand, Su said.
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