The shooter who targeted Taiwanese congregants at a Southern California church is associated with a group tied to the Chinese Communist Party that calls for China's takeover of Taiwan, Radio Free Asia reported.
David Chou, a 68-year-old Chinese immigrant who on Sunday killed one congregant and wounded five others at Geneva Presbyterian Church before being subdued by parishioners, in 2019 participated in an event hosted by the Las Vegas Association for China's Peaceful Unification. The group is controlled by the Communist Party's United Front Work Department and argues that "peaceful unification" between China and Taiwan "is the only way to avoid war."
At the 2019 event, Chou hoisted a banner calling for the "eradication of pro-independence demons."
The Las Vegas Association for China's Peaceful Unification is a branch of the National Association for China's Peaceful Unification, which the United States in 2020 designated as a foreign mission of the Chinese regime.
The Orange County sheriff's office said on Monday that Chou's attack on the church was motivated by his hatred for the Taiwanese.