wfn.org | Municipal By-election in Taiwan puts Christians into Government

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Taiwan Church News 2734, 19-25 July 2004
Reported by Li Hsin-ren. Translated and Rewritten by David Alexander

Internal corruption in the municipal council of Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second
largest city, resulted in enough council members being thrown out of office
to
require a by-election to fill the vacant seats. On July 17th the 18 vacant
places were filled. The winning candidates included one Minister of Word and
Sacrament and four laypersons from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT).
Local clergy expressed happiness at the prospect of Christians in government,
but warned the new council members to maintain aspirit of servanthood and
care
as they serve all citizens.

Voter turnout was only 32%. Many reasons were given. One was that 9
candidates
were spouses or relatives running as stand-ins for persons whom the courts
had
expelled for bribery and corruption. Three "Bribery Family" candidates won
places in the new council. Clergy who were asked to comment said that their
election demonstrates a need for more progress and maturity in the local
political scene.

The Rev. Ateng Ingay, pastor of Mei-kang Presbyterian Church, won the vote
for
the seat reserved for Aboriginal people. Chen Ling -li, a deacon at Min-tsu
Presbyterian Church, Chen Ing-tsann, an ordained deacon at Grace Christian
Church in New York City, Chen Hsin-yu, a member of Ta-shuen Presbyterian
Church and Lan Chien-chang from Oldcastle Presybterian Church now join
Chien-chin Presbyterian Church member Jaw Tien-lin on the 44 member council.
One member of the clergy, the Rev. Chen Sheng-cheng from Tai-shuen church
expressed the opinion that the new council has the highest percentage of
Christians in the city's history.

Rev. Ateng Ingay tells how he originally did not think to throw his hat into
the ring, but was persuaded by Kaohsiung's mayor Frank Hsieh. The mayor told
him that he should take full advantage of his clergy status both as a
candidate and as a council member in order to bring "cleanliness" to the
city's polluted election environment.  Ingay campaigned as the "Ambassador of
Aboriginal Ideals," hoping to create a "5-star" environment for the city's
burdened Aboriginal citizens.

Asked to comment on the "Bribery Family" winners, Ingay opined that
Aboriginal
people were not strangers to vote buying and political corruption. He says
that his election is evidence that the city's Aboriginal residents have
already spurned bribery. But, he noted, Aboriginal voter turnout was also
very
low. He attributes this to a loss of faith in elections and politics.

Ms. Chen Hsin-yu is a member of Tai-shuen Presbyterian Church. She is a
"first
generation" Christian unashamed to fly the flag of her faith even in a city
like Kaoshiung, where only a small proportion of the people share her
religion. Her pastor, The Rev. Chen Sheng-cheng, was invited to participate
in
the opening of her campaign headquarters and to publicly invoke God's
blessing
on the campaign.

Rev. Chen hopes that the Christians on the council will serve the people of
Taiwan with Christ centered hearts and raise up the quality of political life
in the council chambers. The city needs both development and reform. He
believes that if these 6 council members can fully understand the social and
political pronouncements made by the PCT in the 1970's and '80's they will
have a good foundation for their service.

The Rev. Wang Kwang-sze is a former moderator of the PCT's General Assembly.
Ms. Chen Leng-li who was just elected is a deacon in his church. Mr. Wang is
happy to see high-level political participation among Christians. He hopes
that they can help change the manner of operation in the city council and
uplift its image while they work together for community development.

The Rev. Lee Jyh-ren, Moderator of Kaohsiung Presbytery, hopes that
Christians
in the council can change the atmosphere of leadership there, and that by
servanthood and care they can serve the public in ways that eliminate the
culture of bribery and corruption from the chambers.

For More Information:	Ateng Ingay  miekag.kiokay@msa.hinet.net
Wang Kwang-sze andy7129@ms17.hinet.net
Lee Jyh-ren KLMW@ms34.hinet.net
Chen Sheng-cheng FAX +886 7 3842452
Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.
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