The question has been asked many times with recent events in Ukraine, Will China invade Taiwan? With a population of twenty-three million packed onto a piece of land a little bigger than Massachusetts, compared to China’s one and a half billion, Taiwan certainly does begin to look like a little bug that could easily be squashed by the massive Chinese army.
The relationship between Taiwan and China is different from that of Ukraine to Russia. Without dragging you through the mire of Taiwanese politics I’ll try to sum it up as briefly as possible. A civil war in China had been fought since the turn of the 20th century, between the Chinese communist party and The Republic of China. (ROC) Chiang Kai Shek led a massive exodus of between 900,000-1,100,000 Chinese residents and military personnel to the island of Taiwan planning to regroup and re-attack the mainland. When it became apparent that a takeover of the mainland wasn’t going to be possible Chiang Kei Shek settled down to govern the island of Taiwan and shored up defenses. The island is now a mix of the descendants of Chinese and Taiwanese with a fierce sense of independence. China has never recognized Taiwan’s independence. I remember as a kid in Taiwan hearing daily that Taiwan was amping up defenses and China issuing new threats.
Taiwan has been watching recent events in Ukraine very closely. The Taiwanese military regularly escorts foreign aircraft and ships out of Taiwanese airspace and waters. Last week Taiwanese residents were given a military defense handbook. “What to do in case of a military conflict.”
While Taiwanese Christians are certainly concerned, a different set of principles guides them. There is a deeper faith at work among churches that. One of them, a friend from our time there, said, “It is because of our love for Christ that we can love our Chinese neighbors.”
The gospel in Taiwan
That friend, Jen Jen, was invited to attend English lessons in 1975. She continued to come because of the Christian songs and the joy of Christians she met there. Buddhism doesn’t teach a relationship with God. Still compelled by her family to participate in the ancestor worship rituals, she hummed the tunes of Christian songs she learned. She soon found herself looking forward to attending Bible studies. After a year, of study, she packed a change of clothes, snuck away, and was baptized into Christ. Decades later, she is still a part of a network of home churches that meet together all around the Island.
Chad and Alicia Edwards came to Taiwan twenty-six years ago with Team Expansion . Through the work of many Christians going back to that first group with Jen Jen, Taiwanese Christians are encouraged to lead home Bible studies through a program called Zume. This is a Bible-based curriculum implementing simple methods to equip Christians to engage in Bible study on their own. The Zume Bible study materials are available in nearly forty languages. Christians in Taipei, Taichung, and Lo-tung currently have twelve to Fifteen of these groups with collectively a total of seventy-five to one-hundred Christians meeting in small, Taiwanese-Christian, led home groups.
A lot of their ministry is with young people as well. They have hosted a sports and English camp for fifteen years. In 2019 they had two-hundred, fourteen students attending. They are starting the process of turning the camp ministry over to a former Taiwanese camper. Covid has hindered them from being able to host for the past two years, but they plan to start it up again this summer. A lot of the kids from the Home of God’s love, enjoy attending the camps.
Syou Mei, Is one of the kids who grew up in the home of God’s love. And another long-time friend of mine. Syou Mei married a preacher, and they serve together a congregation in Jongwha.
Micheal Lyou serves the congregation in Lo-tung, The same town where the home is. He has been a Christian for thirty-seven years. He attended a Bible college in 1990 and returned to Lo-tung Taiwan in 1994 to work in the church there. He is energetic and has multiple ministries reaching into the community and meeting people’s hunger for the gospel. He conducts a prison ministry and even holds bible studies with a number of real estate agencies. He was previously traveling to mainland China to preach the gospel but has been hindered by Covid restrictions. He continues to stay in contact with Christians in China through virtual studies.
Micheal lives by Paul’s words to Timothy,
“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!”
– 2 Tim 2:8,9
Christians in Taiwan continue to put their faith in God, knowing that whatever happens politically, God is in control. Just as we have seen in Ukraine, should the worst happen, the gospel will still be active in the hearts of men.