Vlad Zavadskyi, Presbyterian Church & Taiwanese Identity

Presbyterian Church & Taiwanese Identity

By Vlad Zavadskyi

Our mother is Taiwan, and we are the masters of Taiwan. For hundreds of years, our mother’s tolerance and kindness persevered and nurtured every generation of Taiwanese. Therefore, every one of us needs to have courage today and openly and loudly shout it out, “I am Taiwanese!” -- Lee Teng-hui (Tsai, 2005, p. 1)

For the prosperous countries of the world, the question of Westphalia sovereignty was resolved decades ago. The proclamation of its own independence is the recognition of one’s uniqueness and maturity of self-determination. Taiwan, as a result of four centuries of colonialism has grown gradually, incorporating the ways of the foreigners and thus strengthening itself. The presence of other rules and religions contributed to Taiwan’s tolerant character, and enabled them to form a distinct identity. The whole country is located on the island which is situated on the trade crossroads of three ‘tiger’ civilizations: Chinese, Japanese and USA. It hasn’t been easy for Taiwanese in their history, since its independence is still “de facto” as they haven’t been recognized by their “brother country” – China.

What’s important is that there has been a very effective influence from outside that helped to strengthen Taiwanese identity in their fight for independence. PCT is the Presbyterian Christian Church which marks its presence on the Formosa (another name of Taiwan, meaning “a beautiful island) as early as 18^th century, introduced by the British and Canadians. In this essay I’m going to investigate the influence the Presbyterian Church has had on the self-awareness of the Taiwanese as a nation. Specifically, few aspects of the Church’s presence are going to be examined; firstly, the PCT’s arrival and strategies of well-adaptation. Secondly, the similarity between Taiwanese and PTC’s repressions during the period of time of Japanese and Chinese regimes as contributing factors to the fusion of identities between the Presbyterian stance on the issue of identity and Taiwanese. Finally, the PCT’s independence Human Rights activism on the island, and the offspring of its influence - the coming of Lee-teng-hui’s democratic government. With these factors in mind, my goal is to see whether there is any correlation between the presence of the Presbyterian Church and the Taiwanese growth as an independent nation.

The history of PCT dates back to 1865 when the Presbyterian Church in England sent Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell to southern Taiwan (Lin, 1999, p.3). Several years later in 1872, the Canadian Presbyterian Church sent Reverend George Mackay to establish a mission in northern Taiwan (Lin, 1999, p.9). In the history of Christianity, starting as early as the discipleship times, the immediate reaction of the people to whom a new belief was introduced has often been met negatively. The case of PCT’s introduction to the local aboriginal population was not an exception; “Maxwell did not gain immediate acceptance when he first arrived on the island because an anti-alien sentiment swept over the native population, and caused them to resist the foreign missionaries” (Lin, 1999, p.9). Hostilities between the Ch'ing officials and the "red-haired barbarians" reached an apex during the Camphor Church Incident of 1868. The Ch'ing officials persecuted the Christians and went so far as to murder a Presbyterian evangelist, “Chng Chheng-hong, who became the first martyr in Taiwan” (1999, p.9). The British had reacted immediately to their NGO’s first threat; “to protest against the persecution by the Ch'ing officials, the British Consul sent warships to occupy Anping” (1999, p.9). Finally, the Ch'ing government agreed to provide indemnity to the churches and reaffirmed its toleration of Christianity.

There were three meaningful factors that helped PCT’s initial establishment on the island. They are a) a presence of strong tradition of attempting to make the gospels meaningful to people in the context of their real lives, b) providing the islanders with the written representation of Taiwanese language and c) the introduction of western medicine and education. Shortly after the key founder Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell arrived to Taiwan, he realized that medical care in Taiwan was poor. Because Maxwell thought that” it was necessary to provide the natives with medical as well as religious services and to provide adequate medical care for missionaries in Taiwan, he founded a Christian hospital at Tainan in 1868” (Lin, 1999, p.10). An integral part of both Mackay and Maxwell's missionary service was the introduction of Western medicine to Taiwan. They found that Western medicine was much more effective than the herbal medicine practiced by local physicians. The early Presbyterian missionaries soon discovered that “their ‘medical missions’ were paramount in reaching out to the native Taiwanese people” (Lin, 1999, p.11). By combining the functions of healing the body and saving the soul, Maxwell successfully attracted local Taiwanese towards Christianity. Medical missionary work became an important part of the Presbyterian Mission and resulted in the conversion of many non-Christian patients to Christianity.

From the beginning, Presbyterian missionaries in Taiwan found that they had much greater success in winning converts than Christian missionaries in China. This was not only because they found populace more open to new ideas, but “because the Presbyterians on Taiwan have had a strong tradition of attempting to make the gospels meaningful to people in the context of their real lives” (Cohen, 1988, p.190). One practical way of doing this is conducting worship services in local languages (Cohen, 1992, p.85). The application of gospel to the social concerns has also been flexible throughout times. In recent years, the PCT has shown an increasing concern with the day-to-day problems of its congregants, and of the larger populace on Taiwan. Thus, it has developed specialized agencies to deal with such issues as prostitution and economic inequalities based on race and sex (Cohen, 1988, p.191). 


These agencies do not neglect the spiritual aspects of life, but rather they place them into the larger social context of human existence. In later years, through programs such as the Ten-year Doubling Movement (Poe Ka Un-tong - PKU), the PCT dramatically increased its Church membership and became the largest Protestant church in Taiwan, attracting mostly native Taiwanese (Lin, 1999, p.14).

Before the Japanese colonialists came to Taiwan, Taiwanese was the colloquial language in Taiwan. While the literati learned to read and write in Chinese characters, the local Taiwanese did not have an established written language for the local vernacular until English and Canadian Presbyterian missionaries introduced them to the Romanized Taiwanese alphabet (Linn, 1999, p.4). The missionaries wanted to build a literate congregation and chose to teach the locals to read and write in the Romanized vernacular because it was easier to learn than Chinese characters. To promote communication through the Romanized Taiwanese script, the first printing press was established as “Rev. William Barclay published the Taiwan Church News in 1885” (1999, p.4). Barclay and the other missionaries also provided the local congregations with Bibles and hymnals in their native language “allowing the local people to read and understand the word of God in their native tongue” (Linn, 1999, p.5).

Its weekly publication, “Taiwan Church News”, wasn’t only Taiwan’s first newspaper, however it was also “Asia’s first Christian paper” (Cohen, 1992, p.86). The newspaper always contained information on current world events as well as religious subjects. By keeping the population involved with the current events and issues, as well as by promoting western medicine, elementary education, and establishment of agencies which target the concerns/needs of the congregants the PCT has set itself in a strong foundation which won its trust amongst the dwellers of Formosa (Portuguese name for Taiwan). What’s more important is that in terms of building a self-propagating church, “the goal of the missionaries was to have the Taiwanese convert their own people” (Lin, 1999, p.13).

Ideally, the PCT missionaries wanted to establish a church in Taiwan that was “self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating” (1999, p.13). Thus the converts were treated from the beginning as brethren, and taught their responsibilities and duties to God, to one another, and to their countrymen. Interestingly, by instilling the idea of self-government into the native population, the missionaries encouraged responsibility by granting them power and cultivated a spirit of independence which became important in the PCT's later leadership role in supporting local Taiwanese autonomy. While the missionaries did influence some of the values of the native congregation, “the direction that the PCT ended up taking and the choices it supported came from the members' own convictions and came through their own independent actions” (Lin, 1999, p.13). The ordination of the first two Taiwanese pastors, Phoa Beng-tsu and Lau Baw-khun, took place in 1896 (1999, p.14), - is one of the many examples of church’s strong establishments on the island.

The 133-year history of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and its strong support of local community interests against the Japanese and KMT (Chinese Nationalists) governments have allowed the PCT to become influential in recognizing local identity. Because the Presbyterian Church came to Taiwan before both the Japanese colonialists and the “Kuomingtang” (KMT) government came into power, PCT has maintained a strong sense of social concern for Taiwan's inhabitants and for the future of Taiwan and its identity (Rubinstein, 1991). At various points in their lives, people who grew up in Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule and witnessed the change from Japanese to Chinese rule, encountered problems with identity and had difficulties determining whether they were Taiwanese, Japanese, or Chinese (Chow, 2008). After watching the Nationalists destroy the lives of many native Taiwanese (20,000 people massacred during the KMT’s suppression of the opposition), many people came to the realization that they were indeed Taiwanese, and that, as Taiwanese, they are obliged to speak up for the rights of the Taiwanese people (Tsai, 2005). In the following paragraphs I will examine in some greater details the presence of Japanese and Chinese nationalists in Taiwan, the similarities amongst the two regimes and the unique pro-Taiwanese stance of the PCTs throughout these colonial times.

During the Japanese period of colonial occupation (1895-1945), the colonial regime regarded the Presbyterian Church as a threat to its authority, and took measures to keep the Church organizationally and financially weak. The authorities especially resented “the Church’s success in converting Aborigines, apparently fearing that a movement which stressed the dignity of the mountain dwellers as human beings would subvert pacification and assimilation efforts” (Cohen, 1988). Because the PCT already had well-established roots in Taiwan prior to Japanese rule, it continued to promote the use of the Taiwanese language even though the Japanese government strongly discouraged this practice (Lin, 1999). Although the Japanese provided elementary education for all children in Taiwan, they opposed secondary education for Taiwanese (Tsai, 2005). The majority of the Taiwanese students enrolled at the island’s sole true university studied medicine (Tsai, 2005, p.55). Only a handful of Taiwanese were allowed to major in liberal arts and political science. The PCT felt it was necessary for all children to have educational opportunities and began to establish secondary schools for the Taiwanese in 1914 (Lin, 1999). Thus, throughout this period of "Japanization," the Presbyterian Church became the guardian of the Taiwanese language until 1942 when the Japanese forced the churches to conduct services in the Japanese language. After the defeat in the WW2, Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers in 1945, thus seizing the cultural invasion on Taiwan.

The PCT’s mutual identities with islanders grew even stronger after the arrival of the Chinese nationalists (KMT) on the island, who “took over Taiwan by military occupation on behalf of the Allied Powers” (Kerr, 1985). The mark of KMT’s new regime was the massacre of March, 1947. At that time the KMT or Kuomintang invaders (1945-late 1980s) showed Formosans “who’s the boss on the island”, and continued their repressing governance, while leaving Formosans “naked, realizing that they are now in China” (Kerr, 1985). The feelings of identity and pro-independent movements have slowly started to grow in a mature fashion. The Presbyterians have experienced success in evangelizing more people during the initial economical instabilities of the KMT’s regime, as well as taking a step up in advocating the gospel of peace in the socio-political realm; the pro-independence views of what has became known as “the politics of love” (Cohen, 1988).

What characterizes the two colonial regimes is, firstly, “they both considered the Taiwanese naives to be second-class citizens and both systematically discriminated against the Taiwanese” (Chow, 2009, p.41). Under the Japanese, for instance, “a Taiwanese never held a position above head of county” (Chow, 2009). Similarly, when the Chinese Nationalist Party took over from the Japanese, “Taiwanese were excluded from many jobs in both central and local government” (Chow, 2009). Right until the death of the KMT’s party leader Chiang Ching-kuo, “no Taiwanese ever held the position of Premier or Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Economics, Education, Finance, of Justice, or any military or security position” (Chow, 2009). The recurring theme of discrimination is important in understanding and analysing the PCT’s role in becoming an open advocate of human rights in Formosa. It is because of this consistent repressions that provoked many congregants and church leaders to step up to a vocalizing the issue of cultural/national repressions.

Since the early 1970s, the PCT has become increasingly outspoken in its advocacy of human rights (Cohen, 1992). Inspired by US President Jimmy Carter’s proclamation of “human rights [as] the soul of foreign policy” call, PCT General Secretary Kao and other Church leaders “felt compelled to offer their congregants and nation a moral guidance on the pressuring issue of Taiwan’s future” (Rubinstein, 1991). Thus, “on December 31, 1971, the PCT Executive Committee issued a ‘Public Statement on Our National Fate’, [in which it states that] the Presbyterian Church took a political stance in public words for the first time in the history, deeply motivated by faith” (Cohen, 1988). Rubinstein (1991) makes an interesting comment regarding PCTs active involvement in their’ “service of truth, justice and love” (Cohen, 1992), explaining Presbyterian patronage as follows; “...because it (PCT) is the largest church on the island to represent the Taiwanese, its leadership views the church as the voice and conscience of this ethnic/linguistic majority” (Rubinstein, 1991). It was this struggle between Church’s espousal of human rights and the KMT regime that got them their label: “Taiwan independence terrorists” (Cohen, 1992). The repressions that were enforced by the KMT government varied in nature; from confiscation of Romanized Bibles and false accusations to subverting the PCT’s financial and organizational base by discouraging would-be converts.

The attacks occurred on many fronts. The climax, however, came in 1979 with “the Gaoxiong Incident: the confrontation between militant advocates of Taiwanese independence and the local riot police, the arrests of these leaders, and the arrest, trial, and imprisonment of the Presbyterian Church’s general secretary, Rev. Gao Zhunming” (Rubinstein, 1991). The struggle, as we would expect, didn’t end there. Since PCT was involved with the other NGOs like WCC (World Council of Churches), the pressure on the regime was exerted in a “boomerang” fashion: “Links to churches around the world helped generate considerable international pressure for [Rev. Kao’s] release” (Cohen, 1988).

The Presbyterians have expanded their social and theological cooperation with other Christian Churches (NGOs) on the island through Ecumenical Cooperative Committee, which is registered with the government, but independent of the KMT (Cohen, 1988). Interestingly, PCT has been working closely with the Catholic Church in “defending the human dignity and cultural and land rights of Aborigines, as well as expanding their economic options” (1988, p.200). To further its vision of peaceful change, in anticipation of the legislative elections, the PCT issued “A call for Increased Democracy in our Nation” (1988, p.201).

One can argue that there has been a great deal of example set by the PCT’s advocacy of the “cultivated spirit of independence” to be followed by many others who were just an obedient onlookers before. At the beginning of 1980s, “Taiwan began to witness the mobilization of a civil society as represented by the rise of social movements and civil protests, many of them vary contentious in nature, demanding various concessions from government” (Schak & Hudson, 2003, p.181). It’s important to mention that these, above-mentioned, social movements and the NGOs “have played a very significant role in further facilitating, fostering, creating and ensuring Taiwan’s democratization” (2003, p.181). NGOs “advocating change and reform have grown in great number since 1980, their causes covering a wide variety of areas including consumer protection, labour and farmer rights, environmentalism and nature conservation, gender equity, minority identity, human rights, urban housing prices and Hakka culture preservation” (2003, p.181).

One of the greater fruits of the PCT's labouring on the Formosan Island was their contribution to “upbringing” of Lee Teng-hui and his pro-democratic views. As Cohen (1992) states for a fact, “the PCT includes the President Lee Teng-hui and a number of DPP leaders” in amongst its congregants. Though “unlike the dramatic conversion of Saul to Paul, Lee Teng-hui had totally forsaken the dogma of Karl Marx and embraced the religious tradition of Abraham, which believed in the return of the Messiah and angels” (Tsai, 2005, p.93). Regardless of critics, who claimed his ever-changing quest for identity, “faith became the integral part of his life” (Tsai, 2005). When Lee was inquired about his personal life as a congregant, he gave testimony saying that “his daily prayers and regular testimonials gave him strength, guidance, and comfort” (Tsai, 2005). As Lee Teng-hui was becoming more confident about himself and about his country, he wanted “the world to treat Taiwan in line with its financial and trade strength, it performance in human rights and democratic development, and its influence in business, education and high technology” (Tsai, 2005). During his presidency, Lee continued the Church’s pro-independence movement on the international level.

From the history, by 1977, Taiwan had become ever more isolated diplomatically, and China was openly stating that it would use the “expected normalization of relations with the US to press its claim over the island” (Cohen, 1992, p.86). Their claims have resulted in Taiwan’s expulsion from the UN Security Council, and international recognition as a country by the 20 biggest economies (except for the “de facto” recognition). Therefore, Lee’s duty was to become an advocate for the first time in Taiwanese history of his previously underrepresented nation. Lee used “activities and foreign aid programs (to the second World countries) [that] were very important steps in breaking out of China’s containment and in achieving Taiwan’s international legitimacy as a sovereign state” (Tsai, 2005, p.196).

In order to understand Taiwanese ongoing search for recognition as of a democratic country, we’d need to examine China’s neo-imperialism first, along with the informal NGOs and formal (government) sectors’ fight for self-establishment. As promising as it may sound, Friedman (2006), having high hopes in “NGO special responsibility for the island’s future” (2006, p.112), states that “NGOs’ comparative diplomatic freedom and transnational civil society connects with the state end of world politics have made the Taiwanese government more helpful of finding a way to creep into the world of officialdom through an NGO back door” (2006, p.112). The point Friedman makes is valid one, for even if we refer to Lee’s above mentioned strategy of “foreign aid programs to the countries-allies”, how much more foreign aid can China, on the other hand, provide to the more wealthy countries, to shape their world politics. Thus, we need to look at the NGO factor as a decisive one, in the search for Taiwanese identity.

In conclusion it is important to recognize the fact that the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan has played one of the key roles in reinforcing and keeping country’s identity, supporting its minority groups, promoting justice, peace and equality through the gospel of peace. Their well adaptation in Formosa in solidarity with the local people during the repressive colonial regimes of Japanese and Chinese rule have proven them worthy of recognition as they not only withstood the animistic pressure however also acted as a safe-keepers of the local language and courageous advocates of human rights and independence. As Reverent Hsu wrote while in prison sums up the PCT’s outward “politics of love”:

...I’m not a fool!

Nothing is free under the sun:

Human rights, freedom, equality, justice, truth

All these have to be won.

Remember!

Promise of peace to the world

Comes from the cross on Galgotha.

References

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