Taiwan tycoon to fund 3.3 million-strong army of ‘civilian warriors’ to defend against invasion

Robert Tsao, a microchip entrepreneur, pledges $32m to train and equip civil defence force to combat threat of Chinese attack

A Taiwanese tycoon has announced his plan to train 3.3 million civilian warriors" and marksmen to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, using one billion Taiwan dollars ($32m) of his own money.

The announcement by Robert Tsao, a well-known Taiwanese businessman and founder of United Microelectronics Corp, a major microchip producer, comes amid increasing military activity between Taiwan and China. On Thursday Taiwan's defence ministry announced its soldiers had shot down a Chinese drone over Taiwan's Kinmen islands.