TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) uses the “one China” principle as a tactic to swindle Taiwanese, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠) said Thursday (Oct. 13).

The former chairman of one of Taiwan’s key semiconductor makers has recently been outspoken in his criticism of Chinese threats, even pledging to fund 1 million drones for Taiwan’s military.

On Double Ten National Day, Ma said Taiwan and China were not two countries, but two “areas,” angering Tsao. The tycoon said the “one China” principle was a scam invented by Ma’s Kuomintang (KMT) and by the Chinese Communist Party. If Ma played along with Beijing to use the swindling tactic to take away Taiwan’s sovereignty, then he should be strongly condemned, Tsao said.

He told a web interview Thursday that Taiwan needed to emphasize to the world that it was a country separate from China, and that its defense should be built on that fact, the Liberty Times reported. Mentioning the “one China” principle risked giving the world the impression that China had a reason to invade, according to Tsao.

Earlier, Tsao also slammed Ma for the latter’s complaints that the Oct. 10 Double Ten National Day celebrations should not be translated into English as “Taiwan National Day.” The former president insisted that government events should use the country’s official name, “Republic of China.”