Statement
on “Laguna Woods Church Shooting" by NATPA
The North American Taiwanese Professors’ Association
(NATPA), founded in 1980 and consisting of college professors and professionals
in the United States and Canada, expresses serious concern regarding the church
shooting that targeted a Taiwanese American congregation on May 15, 2022, in
Laguna Wood, CA. We call for peace and for
attention to the hate crime imposed on innocent American citizens.
The NATPA condemns the spread of China’s agenda
through violence inflicted on Taiwanese Americans. According to Orange County Sheriff's
Department, the gunman, a Chinese immigrant, was politically motivated by the
hatred and violence messages promoted by the China Council for Promotion of
Peaceful National Reunification (CCPPNR),
an organization in which he serves as a leader of its Las Vegas Chapter. The
head of its Beijing headquarter, Yang
Wang,
currently is ranked as the third most powerful out of the seven-member Politburo
Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the supreme group chaired by
Xi Jinping. Wang also chairs the National Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference. According
to its website, the CCPPR has had a long history of promoting propaganda that
favors China by devastating the national interests of the United States and Taiwan.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. John
Cheng, a father of two teenagers and a devoted husband, who immediately charged
the gunman during the shooting incident. It is particularly heartbreaking that
Dr. Cheng's mother lost her husband and son within less than three months. Dr. John
Cheng’s sacrificial love will be forever remembered.
The NATPA applauds the wisdom and courage of many
Taiwanese Americans on the scene, reflecting the values and noble character of
this great country. The swift and shrewd
response by many senior citizens and Rev. Billy Chang stopped the suspect and
successfully prevented more deaths. The Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said
the gunman used chains to lock doors and tried to glue the
locks shut. Additional ammunition and Molotov cocktail-like items were found in
bags in the church.
This shooting incident at a house of worship targeted
not just one ethnic group but is a violation of American values that we always defend:
freedom, democracy, and human rights. The NATPA calls for the following actions
taken:
1. For law
enforcement: Investigate the activities of the China Council for Promotion of
Peaceful National Reunification and its relationship with the Chinese Communist
Party, to prevent politically motivated attacks on innocent people from
happening again.
2. For lawmakers: Define threatening languages from China against Taiwan or Taiwanese
groups and/or individuals by using forces, violence, and military power to
promote China’s unification agenda as a hate crime.
North American Taiwanese Professors' Association
2022.5.19
