PCT issues public appeal in the aftermath of 2012 election

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

3129 Edition

February 13~19, 2012

General Assembly News

PCT issues public appeal in the aftermath of 2012 election

Reported by Sam Lee

Written by Lydia Ma

PCT General Assembly Executive Committee convened a meeting on February 7, 2012 
to approve an appeal statement that would serve as PCT’s official response to 
the results of January’s presidential and legislative elections. Drafted by a 
subcommittee of pastors, the statement listed 5 appeals in view of Taiwan’s 
present circumstances and challenges. 

The 5 appeals are: “Hold on to our values”, “Let the people decide”, “Deepen 
democracy”, “Taiwan first”, and “Sovereignty and independence.” Besides these 
appeals, the public letter also urged all churches and Christians to pray for 
Taiwan and to model Jesus Christ by reaching out to this land through love and 
suffering.

PCT General Assembly Office invited a few of its pastors, including Taiwan 
Theological College and Seminary Professor Cheng Yang-en, Taiwan Church News 
General Editor Fang Lan-ting, and PCT Church and Society Committee Secretary 
Huang Che-yen, to be part of this statement subcommittee. The subcommittee met 
before the elections in January to discuss different versions of the statement 
depending on the outcome of the elections. Once the outcome was confirmed, the 
committee met again to finalize the wording of the statement.

According to Cheng, this is the first time that the PCT has issued one 
statement before an election and another statement after an election. In the 
past, the PCT has only issued statements before elections. Hence, Cheng lauded 
PCT’s increasing involvement in important social issues as a sign of 
improvement.

When the statement was submitted to the Executive Committee for discussion and 
ratification, the Executive Committee added a few words to emphasize the 
importance of friendly and constructive competition between the governing the 
opposition parties, as well as media justice.

The Chinese version of this statement can be found on page 13 of Taiwan Church 
News 3129 edition. 



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