Can the Taiwanese billionaire with microchip create a civilian force against China? – BBC News Thai

In September of this year, a retired tech billionaire in Taipei White hair and glasses summoned a media in Taiwan to a press conference in which he claimed he would spend NT $ 1 billion on personal funds, or about 1.2 billion of baht, to build a civilian force.

Wearing a bulletproof vest over his shirt, 75-year-old Taiwanese billionaire Robert Cao has announced that he wants to help his country’s male and female citizens fight China.

Mr. Cao’s goal is to train more than 3 million citizens to become warriors. This number represents 1 in 7 of the population of Taiwan. It will take 3 years to train ordinary civilians to become warriors.

These groups of people will join forces. There are company employees, students, entrepreneurs, parents who will learn to handle guns. from Mr. Cao said he He needed 300,000 snipers.

He admitted that the mission was extremely ambitious. but he declares that he will succeed. in a press release he also took a Taiwanese identity card. in which he returned to become a Taiwanese citizen after renouncing his Singaporean citizenship. He said he would never run again and he wasn’t afraid.

“I think as long as there are people in Taiwan they will want to protect the country. Those people are not afraid of Chinese military aggression, “Cao told the BBC a few weeks later.

Robert Cao was born in China but raised in Taiwan. He is the founder of United Microelectronics Corp, the world famous microchip company.

as a businessman Mr. Sao has a lot of business with China. but in his being of him Pole is an enthusiastic student of history. Sao has made a name for himself as a political commentator for decades and was also the one who proposed a referendum on Taiwan’s return to mainland China in 2007.

But now, Robert Cao is one of many Taiwanese who feel the need to prepare for a potential Chinese invasion.

On the Chinese side, Xi Jinping will lead the Chinese Communist Party for the third consecutive term, something that hasn’t happened since Mao Zedong. Jinping who announced is Taiwan’s integration with China. This will seal the more stable state of him.

In the Xi era, China was significantly modernized and expanded its military capabilities. Chinese People’s Army also increased military activities in the Taiwan Strait The maritime distance between Taiwan and China is only 160 kilometers. It has been ravaging the Taiwanese for decades.

The suppression of the Hong Kong uprising in 2019 marked a turning point in this regard. Chinese supporters try to say what happened in hong kong It is a model that Taiwan could face if it integrated with China, that is, it would become another territory that would be part of “one country, two systems” and eventually democracy would be conquered.

But this year, Robert Cao said that Russian aggression in Ukraine is like waking up the Taiwanese people again.

In August, the situation in the Taiwan Strait reached a high point in decades. When Ms. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives travels to Taiwan

China responded with large-scale military exercises. But analysts see It’s not just a threat. Instead, it was a drill for a potential attack on Taiwan, where more than 100 aircraft, 10 destroyers and support ships were deployed. The fighting force has been operating around Taiwan for more than a week, with China sending submarines. aircraft carrier and launched dozens of missiles

For Robert Mast, this was a major turning point. He began to see it The Communist Party of China is a “mafia, organized crime in the guise of the national government”.

“I want to show my intentions … I think I can arouse a lot of people. Including other businessmen or leaders who might follow,” Sao said, vowing to invest in military drone development as part of the hedgehog’s “strategy of the hedgehog”. Taiwan, a key defense strategy.

Taiwan’s defense budget accounts for about 2% of its gross domestic product. Since 2010, the United States has sold arms to Taiwan worth about $ 23 billion, $ 6 billion in 2020 alone. On the military side, that’s 15 times more. the government has the largest naval force in the world. And the People’s Army soldiers stationed were more than 2 million and the reserve summoned another 500,000 troops, so Taiwan adopted an asymmetrical defense strategy.

“The current battle Just like what we saw in Ukraine It wasn’t a comparison of the number of soldiers or tanks. It’s a machine-driven war,” Cao said.

It also requires flexibility and commitment in battle. The Taiwanese military has been smaller since the 1990s, and the Taiwanese government has reduced the number of years of military service from two to four months. For the first time in decades the opinion poll indicated that most people agree

After a visit from the US House of Representatives, Sao met with the civil protection training academy called “Kuma”, established in 2021, where it announced it would expand.

“The President of the Pillar is not alone. I would like to say that it is a mirror that reflects the Taiwanese society in which we find ourselves at this moment ”. Taiwanese lawyer Wang Ding Yu. and former chairman of the Taiwan House of Representatives Commissioner for Security and Defense, he said

When I looked at the people of Taiwan and found it they are extremely excited. Some also flew to the American island of Guam. to practice shooting real guns Because gun ownership laws are strict in Taiwan.

Mr. Wang said this is a booming business. “Especially in the new generation They are eager to learn how to protect our country”.

Claire Lee, 27, who describes herself as a “patriot”, said she would stay behind to protect her home. but now she threatens you from China has yet to be seen in the short term to the point of her having to undergo combat training with Mr. Sao.

“Everyone felt it, oh… he was so brave. We never thought anyone would spend such a large amount of money doing it. Most of the rich and influential people in Taiwan or other billionaires are very “pro-Chinese” and business-oriented, “she said.

“Everyone talks about it. But I haven’t heard of anyone actually doing it, and I think I probably won’t, ”Claire said.

“People don’t want to think about the worst scenes. until a gun is pointed at them. ”

he also said, “Most Taiwanese don’t want to fight. and it doesn’t want to be annexed to China or even forced to be independent. We just want to continue living our lives. ”

However, Claire admits that A lot of things have changed faster than initially anticipated. And I’m pretty sure the state of Taiwan will change. It is possible that the war during his own life

Although Mr. Joe Biden, President of the United States Twice it has been said that the United States is ready to help Taiwan if it is attacked by China, but Robert Sao said that the Taiwanese must do something for their own safety.

“What I’m doing is giving Taiwanese self-confidence,” said Sao. “In China, my name is Bao Chuan Yin Yu”.

This is a Chinese idiom which means “Throwing bricks to get jade” means investing in something with moderate or low strength will attract wisdom. There will be a big comeback, namely “Ripples of the Taiwanese fighting spirit”.