Note #9120 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:
06077 Feb. 10, 2006
'God will take the risk with us'
Taiwanese Presbyterians take a chance by advocating independence from China
by Pat Cole
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Presbyterian minister Kho Sing-Doh sums up his aspirations for Taiwan's future in the name he gave his son: "Tai-li." It is composed of the first syllables of the Taiwanese words for "Taiwan independence."
Kho says his son's name represents "a vision for future generations, when there will be more acceptance for this kind of identification with Taiwan." It is a vision shared by many of Kho's fellow Presbyterians in Taiwan.
"Self-determination means that Taiwanese are in the image of God, and Taiwan should be equal with other countries," says Andrew T. C. Chang, general secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT). "It means that we have dignity and full rights in the global village."
Independence advocates want to banish the idea that Taiwan is a renegade province of China. They want the United Nations and the countries of the world to recognize Taiwan's sovereignty.
The pursuit of independence involves risk. Just 100 miles across the Strait of Taiwan are hundreds of Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan. Many international observers believe that, if Taiwan declared its independence, an attack would likely follow - and the United States, which has a defense treaty with Taiwan, would be among the nations drawn into the conflict.
"One of the greatest dangers to international security today is the possibility of a military confrontation between China and Taiwan that leads to a war between China and the United States," China expert Kenneth Lieberthal wrote in the March/April 2005 issue of Foreign Affairs. "Such a war would not only be tragic, but also unnecessary, since it would result from a failure of imagination and diplomacy - fought because a place that has long declared independence was attacked for doing so again."
The churches' two views
The Taiwanese independence issue has spilled over into the realm of ecclesiastical relations. The China Christian Council (CCC), sometimes called China's "post-denominational church," strenuously rejects the idea of Taiwanese independence.
"We staunchly believe the reunification of the motherland is the common wish of the Chinese people," reads a 2001 statement from the CCC. "We hereby admonish any and all groups or individuals seeking to separate our motherland and conspire to create 'Two Chinas' or 'One China, One Taiwan.' They must not attempt to turn back the clock and think they can ever slow the peaceful process of reunification of the motherland. If they insist on their own way, they will be condemned by history and our nation."
The PCT and CCC are both partners with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). The PCUSA's Worldwide Ministries Division (WMD) takes care not to alienate either.
"We have dearly cherished and honored partners in both Taiwan and China," WMD Director Marian McClure said in an address to a committee of the 2004 General Assembly. "It is not possible to talk about the political status of Taiwan without reference to both of these partners, because they disagree on this (independence) issue."
McClure told the committee that GA actions on the issue involve four themes:
Continued solidarity and partnerships with churches in both Taiwan and China
Self-determination, defined as "the ability of a nation, people, or state to make decisions about its political, economic, and social life free from external domination or compulsion"
National integrity and selfhood in the community of nations; and
Justice and reconciliation between the people and churches of Taiwan and China with the PC(USA) offering assistance and accompaniment
Virtually independent
Taiwan functions as an independent country in most ways. It controls its own affairs, provides basic public services, supports a technologically sophisticated military and issues its own currency. But it lacks representation in the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international groups, and just 26 countries maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. It lost its UN seat in 1971 when the Beijing government was recognized as China's representative to the UN. Previously the government that ruled Taiwan was recognized as China's official representative.
Today, those who favor independence for Taiwan have no desire to represent China. They just want recognition for Taiwan in the international community. "This is crucial for our people," Chang says. "Taiwan is not part of China. We need to be recognized and be a member of the UN."
Chang's predecessor, William J. K. Lo, retired from the PCT last summer to become general secretary of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance, an organization working toward UN membership for Taiwan.
In 2004, the National Taiwanese Presbyterian Council, a PC(USA) group, lobbied for a General Assembly overture calling for Taiwan to have "observer status" in the WHO. They contended that the lack of such status slowed international aid to Taiwan during the SARS crisis - a claim disputed by some observers. The Assembly encouraged the WHO to serve Taiwan and all people in need of its services, but stopped short of endorsing observer status.
Chang says independence is supported by the Medical Professionals Alliance and groups of educators and intellectuals. However, business interests tend not to push for independence, at least in part because mainland China is Taiwan's largest trading partner.
Who wants independence?
The PCT, Taiwan's largest and oldest Protestant denomination, stands alone among Taiwanese Christian groups in its strong advocacy for independence. Most PCT members are descendants of people who began coming to Taiwan about four centuries ago from southeastern China. Independence supporters say those settlers had no intention of expanding China's territory.
About one-third of the PCT is composed of aboriginal people, who are believed to be of Malayo-Polynesian origin. The indigenous people make up less than 2 percent of Taiwan's population. About 70 percent of the aborigines are professing Christians.
With about 220,000 members, the PCT comprises about 1 percent of the population and about one-third of the Christian population. Presbyterian missionaries from England arrived in Taiwan 140 years ago, and were soon followed by Canadian Presbyterians. The PC(USA) began working in Taiwan after World War II.
Other Christian groups in Taiwan draw most of their members from groups that came to Taiwan after World War II, and their descendents. About 2 million Chinese fled to the island in 1949 after Chiang Kai Shek's nationalist army was defeated by Communist forces. Chiang established a one-party authoritarian government that ruled the island for about four decades.
Most sentiment for independence is found among the four-fifths of the Taiwanese population whose ancestors came from China before the 20th century. But immediate independence is not favored by a clear majority of Taiwan's citizens, according to Michael Swaine of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Public-opinion polls over the past decade have consistently shown that most Taiwanese people oppose any abrupt movement toward either independence or reunification," he wrote in Foreign Affairs (March/April 2004).
PCT leaders see the campaign for independence as an unambiguous pursuit of justice. The PCT has a long history of proclaiming a holistic gospel, says Lyim Hong-Tiong, an associate general secretary. "Most Christians believe that people need Jesus Christ, and that Jesus is our savior," he says. "In addition to this, Presbyterians in Taiwan care about the physical condition of human beings."
Presbyterian clergy were among the strongest supporters of Taiwan's democracy movement of the 1970s and 1980s. Some were jailed for opposing autocratic one-party rule.
Until last July, Kho, the minister who named his son for Taiwanese independence, was pastor of Light of Righteousness Church in Taipei, whose membership includes several former political prisoners. "They were jailed for political thought, although they were usually charged with something else,"says Kho, now a PCT associate general secretary. In recent years the church began conducting services honoring those who died in the struggle; many non-Christians attend.
"I preach to them that the God of scripture is their God, too," Kho says. "Walking in the way of justice is walking in God's way."
The campaign for democracy helped pave the way for the 1996 election of Lee Teng-hui, a Presbyterian layman, as Taiwan's first popularly elected president. His term ended in 2000, but he continues to speak out for independence. He praised the PCT's support for Taiwan's inclusion in the UN and WHO in an address during the PCT's 140th-anniversary celebration in June.
"We should cherish this promised land, which is a gift from God," Lee told 10,000 celebrants in Taipei. "All of the people in Taiwan, regardless of ethnicity, should join the efforts to build this land as a peaceful and democratic country."
Nobody knows what would happen if Taiwan declared itself sovereign. Some say China wouldn't resort to military force because of its economic ties to Taiwan. Others say China might impose an economic boycott.
China's government declared in 2005 that it would use "non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty" if Taiwan declared independence.
"We should be willing to pay some price for independence," Chang says. "Our people should be willing to take a risk. God will take the risk with us - and I trust God."
Pat Cole is associate for communications in the PC(USA)'s Worldwide Ministries Division.
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