About 50,000 Christians from around the country filled the Ketagelan Boulevard yesterday to pray, sing songs and perform Aboriginal dances, joining the annual Global Day of Prayer, which takes place on Pentecost Sunday in praying for the "healing of the nations and the glory of the Lord."
Gathered under the theme "Praying for Taiwan," Christians from various denominations shrugged off the rain, waved palms and flags in the air as they sang prayers with priests on center stage.
"This is the first time Christians in Taiwan walked out of churches and called on God to have mercy upon Taiwan and renew this nation through peace and reconciliation," said Xia Chong-jian (夏忠堅), executive director of the National Prayer Network and an organizer of the event. "It's also a chance for us to connect with other Christians from 160 participating countries this year."
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Xia said that Ketagelan Boulevard has long been a gathering place for political demonstrations. With joyful songs and prayers, the Christian community this time brought peace to the boulevard, with the interests of all the Taiwanese people in mind.
Wearing yellow rain coats and waving palm branches -- used to welcome Jesus on his way to Jerusalem -- South African Arlene Hughes came to celebrate the event with about 30 people from Youth Without A Mission, an international missionary located in Miaoli City.
"I am very excited about this event. God loves the people of Taiwan and we are here to pray for this country," she said.
Besides prayers, the event also featured Aboriginal dances and about 1,000 people in white lined up to make the shape of a cross in front of the stage. The priests also led Aboriginal people from 12 tribes and representatives to circle around alter in while praying for political and ethnic harmony in Taiwan.
Maray Batu, a Bunan Aboriginal and a priest from Taoyuan County with about 300 tribespeople, expressed his concern for the country.
"There have been too many disputes in Taiwan, and they cause a great deal of anxiety among people in society. With all Christians gathered here today, I think we should pray for a better economy, and better educational and political institutions in Taiwan," Maray said.
The Global Day of Prayer originated in South Africa four years ago as a grass-roots movement called "Transformation Africa." Its followers later spread across the globe, praying for an outpouring of God's love and salvation around the world.
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight