After over a decade of being a Singapore citizen, microchip tycoon Robert Tsao announced that he has reclaimed his Taiwan citizenship in a bid to help defend his home country.
The 75-year-old founder and former chairman of United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) revealed this at a press conference yesterday (1 Sep).
He shared that he wanted to help his fellow compatriots stand up against a potential invasion by China.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao
Delighted at receiving his new identity card, he declared, “I have returned to Taiwan and I will die in Taiwan.”
According to Lianhe Zaobao, Mr Tsao said he did not feel bad for renouncing his Singapore citizenship as “matters in Taiwan are more important”.
He added that Singapore is very well-managed and “doesn’t need” him.
The entrepreneur obtained Singapore citizenship back in 2011 after his company encountered government restrictions that prevented it from investing in China.
Although he was once an advocate of Taiwan and China’s unification, Mr Tsao has since become a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
After seeing Beijing’s crackdown on the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, his hopes of a peaceful unification were dashed, reported Focus Taiwan.
Source: Hong Kong Free Press
Mr Tsao now believes that anything coming from the CCP is a “hoax”.
To fortify Taiwan’s defences against China, the microchip tycoon has pledged to donate S$45.8 million (NT$1 billion).
S$27 million (NT$600 million) will go towards a three-year programme that aims to build an army of 3 million ‘Black Bear Warriors’.
As for the remaining funds, Mr Tsao will invest them in local governments to train 300,000 marksmen.
Just last month, he pledged to donate S$137 million (NT$3 billion) to boost his country’s defence department and military capabilities.
The move comes after United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan prompted threats from China to retaliate.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taiwan on Twitter
Prior to her visit, Chinese military planes were flying close to the Taiwan median line.
Growing tensions between Taiwan and China have shone a spotlight on the relatively small scale of the former’s militia.
With 88,000 ground forces, Taiwan’s defence pales in comparison to China’s 1 million troops, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Mr Tsao’s plans to train more soldiers echo the advice of American and Taiwanese strategists to adopt a ‘porcupine’ strategy.
In Fox News’ terms, it involves a balance of conventional high-end weapons and smaller, more versatile weapons.
As such, smaller armies are able to resist much larger armies, as evident in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Featured image adapted from Lianhe Zaobao and AFP News Agency on Youtube.
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