PCT Statement On “Striding Bravely Forward on the Way of Democracy with Love and Tolerance” Over the past half century, no matter what kind of difficulties Taiwan went through, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) held fast to Christian beliefs; by insisting to be rooted in the Taiwanese land and identifying with all its inhabitants, and through love and the practice of care becoming the sign of hope with all our might. American Vice President Mike Pence made a remark about China in Hudson Institute on 4 October saying that “Beijing is corrupting some nations’ politics by providing direct support to parties and candidates who promise to accommodate China’s strategic objectives. And since last year, the Chinese Communist Party has convinced three Latin American nations to sever ties with Taipei and recognize Beijing… America will always believe Taiwan’s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the Chinese people.” Ted Yoho, chairman of the Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, even remarked on 11 December by saying that “Taiwan is a nation, and it is time to embrace and recognize this fact.” This year the European Parliament supported Taiwan in September, and in December reiterated support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations. The problem of Taiwan’s isolation by China has caught international attention. However, China continues to use various ways to coerce Taiwanese business and entertainment people working in China to declare publicly that Taiwan is China’s Taiwan, trying to undermine Taiwanese people’s self-identy. China also continuously spreads fake news to undermine Taiwanese society’s trust of the government. At this critical juncture when international society pays attention to and cares for Taiwan, we feel worried about the development of the Taiwanese society. Therefore we make the following appeals: - Disseminating of fake news should be stopped in Taiwanese society. All people have the responsibility to check the source and reliability of information and stop its spreading. Media workers should follow the ethics of their trade and take responsibility to double check the information they produce.
- Same sex marriage issue should be guided by the interpretation of the justices and the referendum results. The principle of the “PCT Pastoral Letter on Same Sex Marriage Issue” published in 2014 should also be followed, in which it calls on the churches to care for homosexual people and allow the government space to make relevant laws to protect and care for homosexuals.
- The election at the end of November showed that China’s government utilized the democracy of Taiwan for manipulation. Therefore, Taiwanese society should think about establishing measures of Defensive Democracy (Wehrhafte Demokratie) to prevent the Chinese government from undermining our hard-earned democracy and freedom.
- We should think of Taiwan as subject and be united together to face the penetration and mischief created by the government of China. Although we are different, we still have many commonalities. It is a critical time when we should build upon the common foundations of democracy and freedom, fought and earned by our ancestors, to create a “community of life” to move forward and face the world. We shall still continue to strive to use “Taiwan” as the name of the country to join international organizations.
- We sincerely appeal to all individuals and groups in Taiwan to put down past prejudices at this time. May love and tolerance make Taiwan brave enough to face up to China’s threats and isolation so that we may be on our way to make Taiwan a new and independent country.
“Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals; do not forget the life of your poor forever.” (Psalm 74:19) 63rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) Moderator: Sih Pek-Chan (Hsieh Pao-Tsan) General Secretary: Lyim Hong-Tiong Issued: 17 December 2018, Taiwan (Note: In the event of any discrepancies the original text in Mandarin Chinese governs) | 