The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local Autonomy
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SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS Number 92 January, 1999 The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local Autonomy by Christine Louise Lin Victor H. Mair, Editor Sino-Platonic Papers Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305 USA [email protected] www.sino-platonic.org SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS is an occasional series edited by Victor H. Mair. The purpose of the series is to make available to specialists and the interested public the results of research that, because of its unconventional or controversial nature, might otherwise go unpublished. The editor actively encourages younger, not yet well established, scholars and independent authors to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contributions in any of the major scholarly languages of the world, including Romanized Modern Standard Mandarin (MSM) and Japanese, are acceptable. 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N.B.: Beginning with issue no. 171, Sino-Platonic Papers has been published electronically on the Web. Issues from no. 1 to no. 170, however, will continue to be sold as paper copies until our stock runs out, after which they too will be made available on the Web at www.sino-platonic.org. _______________________________________________ The Presbyterian Church In Taiwan and The Advocacy of Local Autonomy Christine Louise Lin Christine L. Lin, "The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local Autonomy." Sino-Platonic Papers, 92 (January, 1999) For my grandfather, Dr. Albert Wu-fu Chen ., Christine L. Lin, "The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local Autonomy." Sino-Platonic Papers, 92 (January, 1999) TABLE OF CONTENTS • PREFACE.......................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................ IX LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................... xi MAP OF TAIWAN xiii INTRODUCTION . 1 I. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY WORK IN TAIWAN.. .. 9 Literacy and Conflicts with Tradition 11 Cultivating an Indigenous Church. ...... .. .................................. ............. 13 The PCTand the ~eriod ofJapanese Rule 15 II. THE PUSH TOWARDS TAIWANESE INDEPENDENCE.. ... 27 The February 28,1947 Uprising and its Aftermath 28 Building a Strong Christian Ministry 33 Struggles with Identity: The Cases ofPeng Ming-min and Shokie Coe. ........... 35 The PCT's Withdrawal from the WCC 44 III. PRESERVING THE TAIWANESE LANGUAGE 49 Translating the Bible into Romanized Taiwanese 49 Romanized Bibles and Hymnals.. .... ................. ....................... ............ 55 Taiwanese Language Under Nationalist Rule 59 IV. CHURCH, VERNACULAR, AND THE EMERGENCE OF A HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT 69 The PCTas the Church ofthe Native Taiwanese 70 .. The 1979 Kaohsiung Incident and the Kaohsiung Trials. ............. ............. 77 The Tangwai Movement 86 CONCLUSION ~ 91 APPENDIXES A. Public Statement on Our National Fate. ... .............. ............................ ..... 95 B. Motivation Ba~ed on Faith and Theology. ....... .......... .. ..................... ....... 98 C. Our Appeal 100 D. A Declaration on Human Rights 104 E. Taiwan Church News, First Issue 106 F. Taiwan Church News, Excerpt April 8, 1998 110 G.A Declaration ofFormosan Self-Salvation III H. Excerpts from the Bible: Fonnosan, Taiwanese, Chinese: Foochow 113 I. Old Testament: Genesis 1: 1. 115 J. Romanized New Testament: Matthew 1:1-25 116 K. The Lord's Prayer 117 L. Taiwanese Hymn 118 M. Confession of Faith 119 N. Shanghai Communique 121 BffiLIOGRAPHY 125 v Chrisline L. Lin, "The Preshyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local AULOnomy." Sino-Platonic Papers, 92 (January, 1(99) PREFACE Taiwanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese words appear in italics when used as a translation for an English word or phrase. To the best of Illy ability. I have tried to standardize the spellings of words written in Taiwanese and Mandarin. I have used the PCT romanization systenl for writing Taiwanese and the Wade-Giles systenl for writing Mandarin. In direct quotations, I have used the spelling systelll of the original source. While I have written Taiwanese narlles with the last name preceding the first name. I have written Mandarin names in the order most conlffionly used for a particular name. The Inacron in Japanese spellings is represented by "6". I did not have a prograrn for writing all the Taiwanese tone marks, but have written them in by hand where appropriate. apologize for any missing tone marks and other inconsistencies in spelling that are not mentioned above. • Vll Christine L. Lin, "The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local Autonomy." Sino-Platonic Papers, 92 (January, 1999) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are numerous individuals whom I would like to thank for their encouragement, • kindness, and assistance during the course of IllY research: My parents, Tommy and Joyce Lin, for their constant support as well as their assistance in providing nle with contacts and materials that were crucial in making this book happen. My father, for conscientiously reading through my book and bringing to my attention all the things wrong with it. My advisor at Dartnlouth College. Professor Pamela K. Crossley, for her patience and guidance throughout the course of my research and writing. Rev. D. John Jyigiokk Tin, Professor Emelitus at Tainan Theological College, and Rev. William J.K. Lo, General Secretary of the General Assembly of the PCT, for providing me with a better understanding of the historical significance behind PCT's advocacy of local autonomy and Taiwan indePendence. David Reuther and Alvin Lin for sharing their resources and research, and exchanging their perspectives on various issues covered within the book. Andrew Kuo for his insight on the history of the romanized Taiwanese vernacular and Bible. Genit van der Wees for providing me with back issues of Taiwan " Conununique and other helpful sources. Mr. Kenneth Chen (~ Khlam-jU) for discussing PCT's history and providing me with a copy ofthe first issue of Taiwan Church News. The Interlibrary Loan Office at Dartmouth College's Baker Library for tracking down many obscure but important sources. David Tsai at the Center of Taiwan Inteluational Relations (CTIR) for helping me establish imPOl1ant contacts. Dr. Yang-en Cheng at Taiwan Theological College and Selninary for answeling my questions regarding the PCT. The AInerican Institute in Taiwan, Kaohsiung Branch (AIT/K), where I fITst stu111bled across this topic. Anne Kanyusik for patiently proofreading a previous draft. ChIis Houpt for editing the final draft of this book. 1X Clllistine 1.. Lin. "The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local Autonomy." Sino-Platonic Papers. 92 (January. 1999) LIST 01. ABBREVIATIONS USED CCP Chinese COffirl1unist Party .. CTIR Center for Taiwan International Relations opp Democratic Progressive Party FAPA Fornlosan Association for Public Affairs KMT Kuomingtang (Chinese Nationalist Party) NT$ New Taiwanese Dollars PCT Presbyterian Church in Taiwan PKU Poe Ka -Un-tong (Double the Church Movenlent) PRC People's Republic of China ROC Republic of China TAIP Taiwan Independence Party TIM Taiwan Independence Movement UN United Nations • U.S . United States WCC World Council of Churches XI Chrisline L. Lin, "The Presbylerian Church in Taiwan an<.1lhe Advocacy of Lllcal Autonomy." Sino-Platonic Papers, 92 (January. 1999) MAP OF TAIWAN .-,.- ....:_ .... • .,..: .:, ~.:" .. <..: -;, .... PiN-o·- ,.. .' . ~ _:0,... .' ;""..-...... ~ ...... : K:Sl"".;.~kl:: _Ho.a-l