Taiwanese businessman Robert Tsao announced that he will sue senior Chinese officials in a Taiwanese court over sanctions imposed on him.
Tsao said he is trying to counter China’s intimidation of his legal activities.
China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, said last month that it would punish and sanction Tsao, the retired founder of chipmaker UMC, for allegedly engaging in criminal and pro-Taiwan independence activities.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office suggested that the ‘Black Bear Academy’, which Tsao helped fund, was trying to incite separatism that would jeopardise cross-strait ties.
Tsao, who is one of Taiwan’s richest men and has pledged to donate millions of dollars to two civil defence training programmes, told a press conference that China was threatening the legal defence of political views in Taiwan and his personal safety.
The lawsuit will be filed in a Taipei court against Song Tao, head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, and Chen Binhua, the office’s spokesman.
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