NO SECURITY: A statement issued by 60 civic groups said the shooting in Laguna Woods, California, was the result of China ‘provoking hatred’ toward TaiwaneseBy Chen Yu-fu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The deadly shooting at a meeting of Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church members in Laguna Woods, California, on May 15 not only violated a sacred space, but also left Taiwanese Americans feeling their cultural base had been shaken.
The church building was not only a place of worship, but also a place where Taiwanese language and support for a democratic Taiwan thrived.
The mass shooting, committed by a man who officials say was motivated by political hatred of Taiwan, has highlighted the close connections that the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has had with the nation’s democracy movement.
Jerry Chen, the member who dialed emergency
Members of 60 civic organizations on Friday issued a statement calling for a pro-unification group linked to a shooting at a church in California last week to be labeled a terrorist organization.
Five members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church congregation were injured and one killed when a man who has been linked to the Las Vegas branch of the China-based Chinese for Peaceful Unification a group advocating for the unification of Taiwan and China entered a meeting of Geneva Presbyterian Church members and allegedly began shooting.
A group of 60 organizations led by the Asia-Pacific Liberal Women Association issued