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Missionaries to receive awards

From left, Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang and missionaries Gloria Watts, Donald McGinnis and Brendan O'Connell attend a press conference yesterday to announce that the ministry would give awards to 80 foreign missionaries next Tuesday. PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES

Eighty foreign missionaries are to receive awards next Tuesday from the Ministry of the Interior for their contribution to the nation for more than 30 years.

Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) announced the news at a press conference yesterday and lauded the benevolent deeds achieved by these missionaries from around the world.

"They are not Taiwanese but their love for Taiwan may be stronger than most local people," Lee said. "Many of them can speak very good Taiwanese, Hakka and even Aboriginal languages, which is admirable."

37 years

A total of 80 missionaries have stayed in Taiwan for an average of 37 years and 13 of them even preached in Taiwan for more than half a century, Lee said.

"They not only contributed their lifelong care and love to Taiwan but also witnessed the development and progress of the country. They are some of the countless contributors to Taiwan's growth," he said.

Sister Gloria Watts, Father Brendan O'Connell and Father Donald McGinnis, Americans who speak fluent Mandarin, attended the press conference yesterday and shared their experiences in helping Taiwanese over the last few decades.

dedication

Watts, 75, who came to Chiayi in 1956 and dedicated herself to promoting medical services in remote and mountainous areas, serves as the president of Martin De Porres Hospital in Chiayi City.

"I still remember 40 years ago, a woman who came to see me after running for three hours opened a white cloth with a very sick baby wrapped up inside. She had heard that we provided free treatment in Meishan Township. But unfortunately the baby was already dead," Watts said in Mandarin.

Watts is now preparing a new hospital in Alishan (阿里山).

O'Connell, 71, has devoted his entire life to helping mentally retarded and handicapped children in Tainan since 1976. O'Connell has also been a minister and promoted special education in Taiwan over the past 31 years.

McGinnis, 81, who came to Taiwan in 1953, recalled some of the difficulties preaching during the White Terror era. McGinnis said that he was forced to leave Taiwan several times because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was unhappy about his remarks about the party.

"Now Taiwan has become a totally different country," McGinnis said.
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