Editorial: Looking back with thankful hearts
From "Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>Date Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:13:33 +0800
3117 Edition November 21-27, 2011 Editorial Editorial: Looking back with thankful hearts Translated by Lydia Ma Taiwan’s transformation from a backward country to a wealthy country in the past few decades is a miracle that deserves our thanksgiving. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s a good occasion to reflect on all the changes in Taiwan since World War 2 and appreciate the blessings that God has bestowed on this country over the years. Now is a good season to follow the apostle Paul’s command in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, wherein he reminds us to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Looking back, the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, prompted the US Congress to pass the Mutual Security Act on October 10, 1951, which opened the door for economic, technical, and military aid for Taiwan. Back then, Taiwan was considered a hub in Asia-Pacific and a place of strategic importance for the US in its battle against Communism. Receiving such a massive amount of aid became a turning point for Taiwanese society because most people at the time had very little material resources. Examples abound of children living in the countryside who snacked on sugar and milk powder while their parents weren’t looking because there were no snacks in the pantry. In addition, public health at the time was also bad and lice-infested hair was a common disease among people. The US$100 million in aid every year between 1951 to 1965 went a long way in abating inflation and other economic woes in Taiwan, as well as relieving lack of material resources. Not only did children begin to have bread, milk powder, and wheat to eat, the empty bags used to hold these resources were later recycled and reused as undergarment material. Such recycling no doubt led to interesting logos seen printed on underwear worn by children living in the countryside, including one with the words “Net weight 22 Kg.” Such aid enabled Taiwan to start import substitution through fostering medium and small sized industries and becoming an industrialized country. Fast forward a few decades later and the majority of Taiwanese people are living the Taiwanese version of the “American Dream” where almost every household owns modern technologies such as television, automobile, and refrigerator and virtually every youth can afford to go to college. We have much to be thankful for today as we remember where it is that we’ve come from. I’m confident that as long as we always give thanks to God through Christ, God will also bless us because of our thankfulness and appreciation for his abundant blessings. ******************** Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages. You may translate and re-use our articles online only if you acknowledge the source as "Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and writer. Contact us before reprinting any of our articles for print publications. Direct comments and questions about this article to: enews@pctpress.org Visit our website for more news at: http://enews.pctpress.org/ (English) or http://www.tcnn.org (Chinese) ********************