wfn.org | Aboriginal Pastor in Taiwan Sues the Government

[Taiwan Church News <pctpress@ms1.hinet.net>]

Taiwan Church News 2668, April 20, 2003
Reported by Li Hsin-ren. Translated and rewritten by David
Alexander

   The Rev. Sakinu, a member of the Paiwan Tribe and moderator of
the
East Paiwan Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
(PCT)  filed
suit against Taiwan's government over land rights issues.
   Sakinu says that land titles are unclear in aboriginal areas.
The greatest
threat comes not from one's neighbor, but from the central
government,
which has a history of appropriating Aboriginal lands for its own
political
and infrastructure purposes.  Recent new regulations about
forestry
management have infringed on longstanding aboriginal land use
patterns.
   The district court in Taitung, where the case was heard, threw
it out, but
Sakinu vows to continue to press the cause. He aims to force the
government to recognize the Aboriginal claims and grant clear
title to people
who have lived on and worked these lands for generations.
   Land rights are not the only threat to Aboriginal livelihood
and church
stability in the regions.  Population out-migration and "sheep
stealing" by
evangelical groups who have entered mission work in the area
threaten the
continuing viability of Aboriginal congregations in the PCT.
   The lack of comity agreements results in church groups more
"lively" or
"attractive" than the PCT coming into villages and drawing away
members.
Resentments build when village residents leave the local
Presbyterian church
to attend services of a newly arrived group. In one case an
offended pastor
said to some members who were sampling the competition, "If you
go
there, you can never return to be a Presbyterian!"
   Sakinu calls for more help from the General Assembly of the
PCT,
especially when a local church is without a resident minister or
when a
minister is drawing near to retirement.  Breaks in continuity of
pastoral care
for a village church can result in crippling outflows of members.

For more information: East Paiwan Presbytery <kacdas@hotmail.com>

				  Sakinu  <kinu@ms2.is.net.tw>

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