Taiwan’s president condemns California church shooting

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s president has condemned the shooting at a Taiwanese church in California by a man reportedly driven by hatred of the island while a lawmaker from her ruling party questioned whether Chinese propaganda was a motivating factor in the violence. Tsai’s office issued a statement saying she condemned “any form of violence” and asked the island’s chief representative in the U.S. to fly to California to provide assistance. A Taiwanese legislator wrote on Facebook that “ideology has become a reason for genocide” and that Taiwanese need to “face up to hateful speech and organizations” backed by China’s ruling Communist Party. Local media say the suspect, David Chou, was born in Taiwan and had ties to anti-Taiwanese groups backed by China.