Editorial: Enough with the arrogance

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

3115 Edition

November 7~13, 2011

Editorial

Editorial: Enough with the arrogance

Translated by Lydia Ma



In recent days, Lee Chien-chang, the choreography advisor of “Dreamers,” a rock 
musical considered the highlight in a series of activities celebrating the ROC 
centennial, wrote an open letter to President Ma Ying-jeou. In the letter, Lee 
said he was resigning from his post as general director of the Taitung landmark 
show, a project entrusted to Taitung County by the Council of Cultural Affairs 
(CCA) to promote both Taitung and ROC’s centennial. 

 

Lee went on to lament the government’s stance on the Meiliwan resort, nuclear 
waste disposal and indigenous self-determination. He also attached a script 
along with his letter where the moral of the story was respecting people’s 
territory. 

 

What transformed Lee? He said he merely spent 3 days in Taitung with indigenous 
people and instead of wasting time arguing, natives there showed him their 
beautiful land. After 3 days, Lee came away convinced that government policies 
such as the build-operate-transfer (BOT) of the Meiliwan Resort and the 
disposal of nuclear wastes in Taitung were so evil, he could no longer imagine 
partnering with an administration that advocated such projects. 

 

A few days later, renowned indigenous movie director Mayaw Biho also wrote an 
open letter questioning the merits of the ROC centenary celebrations. He wrote: 
“In all the celebrations sponsored by the CCA aimed at marketing Taiwan and 
propelling it onto the international stage, or better, marketing the KMT and 
campaigning for the President, has it ever crossed officials’ minds that 
two-thirds of the land in Taiwan was practically stolen from indigenous tribes?”

 

Mayaw Biho went on to allude that the way the KMT went about promoting ROC 
centenary celebrations this year is akin to “thieves” dressing up and calling 
themselves “masters of the house” and throwing a party of international 
proportions.

 

The arrogance of public officials reached its apex in the first week of 
November as churches celebrated Reformation Day. The CCA, whose Minister Emile 
Sheng is a professed Christian, announced that a rock musical production called 
“Dreamers” would be staged in Taitung. The show lasted 2 nights and cost more 
than 200 million dollars. Such an exorbitant price tag horrified one pastor so 
much that he wrote an article decrying such a waste of money.

 

“Dreamers” is a musical that contrasts the story of one of the young martyrs in 
the Huanghuagang Uprising of 1911 with that of his grandson, a contemporary 
youth with dreams of his own. The martyr’s actions led to the revolution 
against the Ching dynasty and the founding of the ROC.

 

The aforementioned pastor estimated that if all the costs for this show were 
summed, the price of a single seat at the venue, estimated at NT$18,000, would 
be enough to help 2 low-income families make ends meet for one month. Though 
$18,000 may not seem much for a public official, it can make a huge difference 
in the lives of poor families by helping them buy more fresh produce than they 
could possibly carry home.

 

But what horrifies us even more is the number of churches that have responded 
by accusing the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) of meddling in politics 
just because PCT leaders have criticized the price tag for staging “Dreamers”. 
These churches’ reactions are understandable considering that many have 
profited from grants given by Sheng and want to maintain good relations with 
his office. However, it is our hope that Christians continue to speak the truth 
in love and stand in solidarity in Christ.

 

As the PCT prepares for its 150th anniversary, we acknowledge and confess that 
we have had our successes and failures. We can skip the adulation lest we 
become too full of ourselves, but a little bit of introspection every day on 
how we’ve fallen short of God’s standards is always a good thing. It may just 
go a long way in helping us avoid making mistakes that we shouldn’t be making 
and shaming God’s name along the way.



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