Calif. church shooting and how to make sense of nationality-based potential hate crime

Despite an increase in hate and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, attacks within the AAPI community are rare — making it all the more startling that a Southern California mass shooting Sunday at a Taiwanese church was allegedly carried out by a Taiwanese American gunman.

Unpacking the history and sentiment that may have led suspect David Chou, 68, to the violence at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church — which left one dead and five injured — is a complicated task, experts say.

Relations between mainland China and Taiwan involve political repression, violence and varying degrees of international recognition of Taiwan’s status and sovereignty. In the U.S., even the ability to self-identify as being of Taiwanese heritage in the U.S. Census has been a battle.

Chou was born in and lived in Taiwan — which is self-governed but China claims as part of its territory — before coming to America. He was aggrieved by tensions between Taiwan and mainland China, which police are pointing to as the motive. He shared pro-unification beliefs and attacked a church aligned with pro-Taiwanese independence.