The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and Society Committee held a public prayer meeting in Taipei yesterday, praying for peace while strongly condemning the actions and motivations of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) in the aftermath of the March 20 presidential election.
The assembly asked the leaders of the pan-blue camp to calm their supporters down and wait for justice through legal channels.
"Lien has stirred up trouble because of hatred. If he has doubts about the election, he should make complaints through the law, not use crowds to put pressure on our democracy," said Reverend William Lo (
A written statement by Reverend Lu Chen-fa (盧成發), passed out to the meeting's attendees, expressed the assembly's wish for conflict resolution: "People win and they lose. We each have our time and each must face the time when we bow out ... For the Taiwanese people's reputation and future, for your own legislative elections at the end of the year, or for the 2008 presidential election, cool down and recoup while waiting for the law to reveal the truth."
Holding hands, ministers led audience members in prayer, asking God to grant President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) a successful transition into their next term. The prayer also wished Chen and Lu health and wisdom, so that they can effectively govern the country in the coming years, and asked for mutual respect among all citizens and political parties.
"Political parties should respect each other and their country's leader. Political figures should not twist facts and defame their president," Lo said, the assembly,s general-secretary, during a sermon at the meeting.
The assembly also urged people to stand up for their rights.
"For so long, Taiwan has been ruled by foreigners, including mainlanders who came over with the KMT in 1949," Lo said.
"Many of these people, who support the pan-blue camp, have held control over the government for so long; it is time for the Taiwanese people to stand up and claim equality," the reverend said.
Church members handed out yellow ribbons and red roses, meant to symbolize a wish for peace and love, to people attending the meeting.
The assembly, along with other social groups, recently took out ads in major newspapers around the country, calling on the public to wear ribbons in support of a "soft," or non-confrontational, approach to post-election conflict.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS