wfn.org | Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Participates in Peaceful Demonstration

["enews" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2959 Edition

>November 10~16, 2008

Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Participates in Peaceful Demonstration

>Reported by: Lin Yi-ying

>Written by: Lydia Ma

“Chen Yunlin, go home! Ma Ying-jeou, step down! Taiwan and China  – Two countries on separate sides the Strait! Victory for  Taiwan!” chanted the group of demonstrators representing the  Presbyterian Church of Taiwan (PCT). On November 6th, this group joined  others in protest against Chen Yunlin who was staying at the Grand Hotel  during his visit. As riot police had closed down streets leading to the  Grand Hotel, this group of roughly 5,000 protestors stopped on the  corner of Chung Shan North Road and Jiou Cyuan Street for a brief sit-in  while singing hymns. Andrew Chang, Secretary General of the PCT, led  everyone in prayer and the assistant moderator chanted some more slogans  before they officially ended the rally at 3:40 p.m. The rally was one of  the most peaceful demonstrations staged on that day and everything went  smoothly.

During the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS)  Chairman Chen Yunlin’s visit to Taiwan, the Ma administration  dispatched fifteen thousand riot police officers in an attempt to please  Chinese officials. Beside confiscating and destroying personal  belongings such as national flags from protestors, police officers also  stormed into hotel rooms where Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)  legislators were staying when the latter unveiled protest banners from  the balcony of their rooms at the Grand Hotel. Police officers dragged  the legislators out of their rooms and in the process also violated  basic human rights.

While prominent KMT members dined with Chen Yunlin, police officers  stormed one nearby record store that was playing Taiwanese songs. They  ordered the storeowner to stop the music and pulled down the  store’s gate with such force that it broke. The event angered the  crowd and more protests followed, culminating into a bloody showdown  between riot police and demonstrators. Consequently, Chen Yunlin and his  delegation were stuck inside the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel for a few  hours as demonstrators clashed with police officers outside. They were  finally rescued at 2:00 a.m. and Chen experienced first-hand what  Taiwan’s democracy movement is all about. When Chen left Taiwan on  November 7 with tears and fear in his eyes, it was apparent that what he  experienced here is a lesson he will not soon forget.

PCT members from all across Taiwan gathered outside Che-Nam Church at  two o’clock p.m. on November 6th to begin their march and join  other protestors. Realizing that it would be impossible to meet up with  the rest of the protestors, the group decided to march straight to the  Grand Hotel and protest there. Led by Andrew Chang and other church  leaders, this group of 1,500 Christians left Che-Nam Church and marched  along Chung Shan North road.

As the group marched along, they were met by fellow Taiwanese who  cheered and gave them a thumbs-up. Many people spontaneously joined in  and the number of people participating was estimated to be over three  thousand at one point. Because most riot police officers were monitoring  other places, the group did not encounter any difficulties at the  beginning of the march. They were met by a line of riot police officers  blocking their way at the corner of Chung Shan North Road and Jiou Cyuan  Street. At this point, tension rose but church leaders urged the crowd  to remain calm. They all quickly sat down and leaders led protestors  into singing hymns.

Though aware that the PCT group of protestors would not clash with riot  police by force, the officers were still instructed to keep their gears  up and warn the crowd. Though a few bystanders tried to stir up the  scene, protestors heeded Chang’s call to remain calm and seated.  Chang also asked everyone to applaud the officers for their hard work  and called on the officers to respect the people. He also urged them to  be guardians of the Taiwanese people. Chang also led demonstrators into  chanting “Taiwan and China – Two countries on separate sides the  Strait!” before leading in prayer.

As he prayed, the general secretary asked God to protect Taiwan from the  thousands of missiles aimed at the country by the Chinese government. He  also declared that the Taiwanese people were ready to protect their  country with their lives. He prayed for the police officers on duty  during Chen Yunlin’s stay in Taiwan, knowing that these officers  were caught in the middle of the fight between government and people.  Chang prayed for God to comfort these officers and give the government  discernment to distinguish right from wrong and do what would be  pleasing to the Lord. Finally, he asked that the Lord would help Taiwan  become a truly new and democratic country filled with hope and  confidence. At the conclusion of their rally, Chang and other church  leaders shook hands with the riot police and their supervisors and the  demonstration ended on a peaceful note.

*******************

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages. You  may translate and re-use the articles if you acknowledge the source as  "Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and writer.
Visit our web site: http://www.pctpress.org (Chinese)

>http://enews.pctpress.org/ (English)

Please direct comments and questions to: enews@pctpress.org

If links are not working or you desire to receive e-news as plain text  attachments, please let us know. Thank you!

>********************