Taiwan’s President Condemns California Church Shooting

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s president has condemned the capturing at a Taiwanese church in California by a person reportedly pushed by hatred of the island, whereas a lawmaker from her ruling occasion questioned whether or not Chinese language propaganda was a motivating issue behind the violence.

President Tsai Ing-wen’s workplace issued an announcement Tuesday saying she condemned “any type of violence,” prolonged her condolences to these killed and injured and had requested the island’s chief consultant within the U.S. to fly to California to offer help.

David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas, was anticipated to seem in California state courtroom Tuesday on suspicion of homicide and tried homicide. Police stated he hid firebombs earlier than Sunday’s capturing at a gathering of principally aged Taiwanese parishioners on the church in Orange County exterior Los Angeles. One man was killed and 5 individuals wounded, the oldest 92. A federal hate crimes investigation can be ongoing.

Chou, a U.S. citizen, apparently had a grievance with the Taiwanese neighborhood, police stated. Chou was born in Taiwan in 1953, Taiwan’s Central Information Company reported, citing the pinnacle of the Taipei Financial and Cultural Workplace in Los Angeles, Taiwan’s de-facto consulate within the metropolis.

In response to Taiwanese media, Chou had ties to a Chinese language-backed group against Taiwan’s independence, though particulars couldn’t instantly be confirmed.

China claims Taiwan as its personal territory to be annexed by pressure if vital and usually denounces Tsai, her ruling Democratic Progressive Occasion and their international supporters in more and more violent phrases.

Tensions between China and Taiwan are on the highest in many years, with Beijing stepping up its army harassment by flying fighter jets towards the self-governing island.

In Taiwan, DPP legislator Lin Ching-yi stated “ideology has turn out to be a cause for genocide” in a message on her Fb web page.

Lin stated Taiwanese must “withstand hateful speech and organizations” backed by China’s ruling Communist Occasion, singling out the United Entrance Work Division that seeks to advance China’s political agenda in Taiwan and amongst abroad Chinese language communities.

The U.S. is Taiwan’s chief political and army ally although it would not lengthen the island formal diplomatic ties in deference to Beijing.

Bi-khim Hsiao, Taiwan’s de-facto ambassador, on Monday tweeted that she was “shocked and saddened by the deadly capturing on the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in California.”

“I be a part of the households of the victims and Taiwanese American communities in grief and pray for the speedy restoration of the wounded survivors,” Hsiao wrote.

Chou’s hatred towards the island, documented in hand-written notes that authorities discovered, seems to have begun when he felt he wasn’t handled nicely whereas dwelling there.

A former neighbor stated Chou’s life unraveled after his spouse left him and his psychological well being had been in decline.

Chou’s household seemed to be among the many roughly 1 million refugees from mainland China who moved to Taiwan at across the time of the Communist sweep to energy on the mainland in 1949.

The previous Japanese colony had solely been handed over to Nationalist Chinese language rule in 1945 on the finish of World Warfare II, and relations between mainlanders and native Taiwanese have been typically tense.

Separated by language and life-style, incidents of bullying and confrontation between the perimeters have been frequent.

Many mainlander youth, who have been concentrated within the main cities, joined violent organized crime gangs with ties to the army and Chinese language secret societies, partially to defend themselves towards Taiwanese rivals.

The Presbyterian Church is probably the most outstanding of the Christian dominations in Taiwan and was carefully recognized with the pro-democracy motion below many years of martial regulation period and later with the Taiwan independence trigger.

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