Kuma Academy Explained

Kuma Academy
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Founders:Puma Shen[1]
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Location Country:Taiwan
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Services:Civil defense training
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Kuma Academy (Chinese: t=黑熊學院|s=黑熊学院|p=Hēxióng Xuéyuàn) is a Taiwanese non-profit civil defense organization which provides training to civilians on a variety of topics.

Overview

Kuma Academy provides civil defense training to civilians in Taiwan.[2] Classes cover topics like first aid and media literacy to combat disinformation from China.[3]

Kuma Academy has also provided training in open-source intelligence and cybersecurity.[1] According to Kuma their goal is "to decentralise civil defence."[4]

History

Kuma Academy was founded by Puma Shen and Ho Cheng-Hui.[5]

Interest in the organization, and civil defense overall, dramatically increased following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[6] In September 2022, the Kuma Academy had a waitlist of more than 3,000 for its classes.[7]

In 2022, retired businessman Robert Tsao pledged NTD $600m to Kuma Academy.[8]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Allen-Ebrahimian . Bethany . Taiwanese citizens prepare for possible cyber war . axios.com . 27 September 2022.
  2. News: Wang . Joyu . 2022-03-04 . In Taiwan, Russia's War in Ukraine Stirs New Interest in Self-Defense . en-US . . 2022-10-10 . 0099-9660.
  3. News: Philbrick . Ian Prasad . 2022-06-19 . A Looming Threat . en-US . . 2022-10-10 . 0362-4331.
  4. Web site: Davidson . Helen . Taiwan's citizen warriors prepare to confront looming threat from China . . 9 October 2022.
  5. Web site: Kelter . Frederik . Taiwanese train for war after year of crises . aljazeera.com . Al Jazeera . 15 December 2022.
  6. Web site: Chase . Steven . In Taiwan, fear of Chinese invasion sparks fresh interest in self-defence . theglobeandmail.com . The Globe and Mail . 27 September 2022.
  7. Web site: Parry . Richard Lloyd . Taiwanese queue to learn first aid as China's invasion threat intensifies . thetimes.co.uk . The Times . 27 September 2022 . subscription.
  8. Web site: Yu-fu . Chen . Robert Tsao pledges money to make 1m combat drones . taipeitimes.com . Taipei Times . 27 September 2022.