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. 

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