wfn.org | Renowned pastor, songwriter, and Taiwan advocate celebrates 88th birthday

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

>      Taiwan Church News

>3044 Edition

>June 28~July 4, 2010

Renowned pastor, songwriter, and Taiwan advocate celebrates 88th  birthday

>Reported by Sam Lee

>Written by Lydia Ma

“Taiwan must have its day in the sun!” said Rev. Cheng  Er-yu as he celebrated 
his

88th birthday. This was his birthday wish as scores of students  and alumni from

Tainan Theological College and Seminary gathered on June 22 to  celebrate his 
birthday.

Born on June 27, 1922, near Donggang Township in Pingtung County,  Cheng said

his father deeply respected a local pastor there even though he  wasn’t a 
Christian.

Because of his father’s reverence for the pastor, his father  decided to enroll 
him in

Tainan Presbyterian High School (known today as Chang Jung Senior  High School)

where Cheng matured in knowledge and eventually became a  Christian.

Cheng later went on to study in Japan, United States, Germany, and  
Switzerland, and

eventually returned to Taiwan to teach at Tainan Theological  College and 
Seminary.

He also composed many Taiwanese songs that expressed love for his  country. One

of these songs is the much acclaimed Taiwan the Formosa, composed  in the late

1970s when many Taiwanese were blacklisted by the KMT regime for  their support

of Taiwanese democracy and barred from returning to Taiwan.

During birthday celebrations, Cheng’s son said his father  will continue to 
work and

learn despite his advanced age. Not only has Cheng mastered new  technologies

such as sending emails, he continues his calling as an educator  among 
seminarians

and churches and as an advocate of human rights in Taiwan.

When Cheng spoke before a crowd of well-wishers, he urged them to  cherish their

mother tongue and also gave his take on recent developments in  Taiwanese 
politics

and society. After his speech, the crowd sang “Happy  Birthday” before he made 
his

birthday wish – that Taiwan would soon have its day in the sun.

For more information, refer to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_the_Formosa

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

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local  languages.

You may translate and re-use our articles online only if you  acknowledge the 
source as

"Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and  writer.

Contact us before reprinting any of our articles for print  publications.

Direct comments and questions about this article to:  enews@pctpress.org

Visit our website for more news at: http://enews.pctpress.org/  (English)

>http://www.pctpress.org (Chinese)

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