wfn.org | TCN: Canadian Mackay Committee visits Taiwan hoping to set a branch

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>2989 Edition

>June 8~14, 2009

Canadian Mackay Committee visits Taiwan hoping to set a branch

>Reported by Lin Yi-ying

>Written by Lydia Ma

>Canadian Mackay Committee (CMC) Secretary Dr.

Michael Stainton and other CMC delegates visited

Taiwan recently at the invitation of Tam Kang High

School President Yao Tsung-rong. They also visited

Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) headquarter

offices on June 3rd and met with General Secretary of the

>PCT Andrew Chang.

The main purpose of their visit was to discuss the

feasibility of establishing a Taiwan Mackay Committee

(TMC). However, Stainton also disclosed that another

purpose of their visit was to convey the Royal Ontario

Museum’s desire to exchange aboriginal artifacts with

>Taiwan.

Taiwanese churches in Toronto founded CMC in 2001 to

remember the legacy of Canadian missionary George

Mackay and increase interaction between the Taiwanese

and Canadians. CMC has facilitated many exchanges

between people from both countries in recent years and

was instrumental in helping Tamsui Township in Taiwan

and Oxford County in Canda become sister cities.

Many Canadian social groups ranging from sport to

music groups have also visited Taiwan through CMC

efforts. Though Canada and Taiwan do not have official,

diplomatic relations, government officials from both

countries have established strong unofficial ties and 140

Canadian legislators have travelled to Taiwan in

>exchanges facilitated by CMC in recent years.

Besides discussing TMC, CMC delegates mentioned

that, in 1893, Dr. Mackay had brought to Canada over a

thousand Taiwanese artifacts used by Pingpu and Tayal

aboriginal groups. These artifacts are currently on display

at Royal Ontario Museum in Canada but the museum

lacks artifacts from the same era used by other

aboriginal groups living in southern Taiwan. Stainton

hopes to exchange some existing artifacts from the

museum’s collection for other aboriginal artifacts from

>Taiwan.

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