Members of 60 civic organisations published a statement on Friday demanding that a pro-unification group linked to a church shooting in California last week be designated a terrorist organisation.

A man linked to the Las Vegas branch of the China-based Chinese for Peaceful Unification — a group advocating for the unification of Taiwan and China — allegedly entered a meeting of Geneva Presbyterian Church members and began shooting. Five members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church congregation were injured, and one was killed.

A coalition of 60 organisations, led by the Asia-Pacific Liberal Women Association, issued a statement encouraging Taiwanese around the world to lobby their governments to designate Chinese for Peaceful Unification as a terrorist organisation.

The statement encouraged the central government to conduct an immediate investigation into Taiwanese groups suspected of having ties to the organisation and to “deal with them strictly” in accordance with the National Security Act.

“We must keep Taiwanese safe and prevent the spread of hatred,” the statement said.

“This shooting stemmed from the Chinese Communist Party repeatedly provoking hatred toward the Taiwanese people within Taiwan and among Chinese communities globally,” it added.

According to the statement, China is using the unification organisation to scare Taiwanese around the world and to discourage Taiwanese from achieving freedom and democracy.

The US Department of State identified Chinese for Peaceful Unification, of which shooting suspect David Wenwei Chou, 68, was a member, as being under the administration of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, the statement said, adding that this means the organisation is a threat to Taiwanese and should be labelled as such.

“We mourn the loss of Dr John Cheng to this shooting, and we hope Taiwanese everywhere can unite at this difficult time to protect Taiwan’s freedoms for the next generation,” it said.

The statement also expressed concern about the High Court’s acquittal of New Party spokesman Wang Ping-chung on espionage charges, questioning how the court could have acknowledged Wang’s involvement in organisations with ties to the Chinese government without considering him a national security threat.

“If we just wait for another shooting to occur, if we just let these groups sow division within Taiwanese society, isn’t that a national security threat?” the statement asked.

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