by Girard Mariano Lopez

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Photo Credit: Girard Mariano Lopez

STUDENTS RALLIED MONDAY at National Taiwan University to denounce a talk by U.S. defense-technology entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, accusing him of being a “radical Zionist” whose company profits from alleged Israeli war crimes.

Photo credit: Girard Mariano Lopez

Luckey, founder of California-based Anduril Industries, was invited by Academia Sinica’s AI Academy and Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council to speak on “Deterrence, Technology & Defending Taiwan.” Local media reported that Anduril recently signed a memorandum with Taiwan’s state arms maker to develop AI-driven deterrence plans and unmanned aerial systems.

Photo credit: Girard Mariano Lopez

Ahead of the event, seven university groups released a joint statement urging organizers “not to welcome any accomplice to genocide and colonialism.” They accused Anduril of collaborating with U.S. tech giants Palantir and Microsoft—firms that, according to a June U.N. report, provide surveillance and cloud services used by Israel’s military in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“Taiwan’s defense must not be built on the suffering and death of others,” the coalition said, citing Luckey’s 2023 Tablet magazine interview where he declared himself a “radical Zionist” and pledged Israel his “unqualified support.”

Photo credit: Girard Mariano Lopez

During the forum, Luckey responded to protesters, stating Anduril has “no weapons sales to Israel,” and argued demonstrators targeted him because “very few American tech executives visit Taiwanese campuses”. Public records indicate no direct Israeli contracts with Anduril, though Israeli analysts have urged the purchase of its Roadrunner counter-drone system.

Taiwan has intensified foreign security cooperation amid rising military pressure from China. However, protesters contended that safeguarding the island should not depend on companies “entangled in genocide.”

Photo credit: Girard Mariano Lopez

Aside from brief shouting between organizers and demonstrators, the lecture proceeded without serious incident.

The protest followed a larger demonstration Sunday, where 500 people rallied outside Taiwan’s foreign ministry to oppose its deepening ties with Israel.
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