Title: Good People Aren’t Necessarily Good Citizens in Taiwan
Taiwan Church News 2859 11-17 December 2006
Reported by Ko Chu-hiong Written by David Alexander
New Messenger Magazine, published by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) and the PCT’s Kaohsiung University Student Center jointly sponsored a seminar on “Civil Society and Faith” on 9th December at Yen-ching Presbyterian Church in Kaohsiung. Speakers included Chang Tzi-jiann, Wu Ing-ming, and Cheng Yangen. In separate addresses they spoke to the topics of social movement, Civic spirit and Christians in Civil leadership. Speaking for the New Messenger Magazine, Dr. C. S. Chen, president of Chang Jung Christian University, noted that Taiwan has given birth to numerous social movements, but each has remained a minority phenomenon. He said that, if such movements remained only talking shops, their positions could not be regarded as representative of the society at large.
Professor Chang Tzi-jiann, from Yuan-chiou Technical College spoke on “Reason and Passion” from the position of one who has participated in civil society as a member of social movements. He said that if one’s participation in social movements is without passion, it becomes an exercise in formalism, like a body without a spirit. He believes that reflection on the current democratic government’s very purpose of being calls us to the righteousness of the Kingdom of God. As a Calvinist, he asserts that there is a special need to focus on the needs of weak groups in our societies.
He added that international arrangements between governments have brought about a situation wherein government power has been eclipsed by that of financial institutions, against which individual nations are powerless to stand. Gloalization has brought this about. He says that civil society needs to respond both from reason and passion, designing new models for public life, transformation of old social models, and the encounter with the mysterious aspects of group dynamics. He called for moral clarity and equality, transformation from centralization to localization, care for people’s welfare over the pursuit of profit, long term planning over short term thinking, preventative medicine as opposed to healing, and holistic management.
Elder Wu Eng-ming, who heads up the human resources development bureau Kaohsiung’s municipal government spoke on the genetics of the civil life, particularly as this impacts the transformation of structures. He said that current civil society has deep roots in alienation between citizens and government. By “genetics of civil life” he means that structures must be transformed so that citizens move towards self-government, and the government moves towards nourishing civic spirit and quality life. He also posited a division between the concepts of “good People” and “good citizens”, saying that this is extremely important. Taiwan’s respect for civic leaders is very low, because Chinese philosophy does not traditionally teach the concepts of people’s welfare and rights. Therefore, an individual’s commitment to community participation and access to influence things is low.
From their standpoint in faith, Christians must call on respect for the common people. The problem is that people are limited and sin is pervasive. Our daily lives are fed by a scientific spirit and by our cultural backgrounds, which, for people of Chinese cultural heritage, lacks a democratic tradition. People instead think that position is indicative of righteousness and quality. Elder Wu says that the opposite is often true. The higher one ranks in terms of “social nobility”, the further he or she is alienated from the people. Chinese tradition teaches that the royals are royal, and the commoners are common, and nothing can change. But rights and justice must be for all people, and responsibility for social relationships belongs to all citizens. As we take on a better public identity, Taiwan will become a society full of hope.
Taiwan Theological College professor Cheng Yangen spoke from the viewpoint of Christianity in social movements, saying that faith is something which is not private, but public. Because Christianity is a public religion, many churches have spoken out for civic theology, emphasizing the role of the church in social transformation. The church is to be an active agent for community and social transformation. Christians are to be citizen-leaders in action. A society with this element will be healthy, and able to demonstrate its integrity and values. But the power for such action must come from faith in action, so Christians need first to reflect on our own needs to be changed, and then go into mission.
For more information: Cheng Yangen giongun.tin@msa.hinet.net
C. S. Chen www.cju.edu.tw
Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.
Visit our web site: www.pctpress.com.tw