Missionary Rob Siirila
Taiwan's first ever direct presidential elections were successfully held on March 23, 1996. Pres. Lee Teng-Hwei was elected with a landslide percentage of 54%. Anyone who followed the news knows China did its best to discourage voters from casting their ballots for Lee. China fired missiles off the coast of Taiwan, and conducted massive military exercises in the Taiwan straits. Taiwanese voters however, were not frightened. Over 11 million voters turned out. (Check out the internet site that the goverment here used for live election results- a world first!)
Much of China's anxiety was due to their fear that Taiwan was rushing into independence. In a sense Taiwan has been independent of the mainland for almost 50 years. The government here is called the Republic of China and has never been under the control of the communist People's Republic of China on the mainland. Even so, many Taiwanese still view Taiwan as part of China, but not as part of the PRC. They are waiting for China to democratize and become more prosperous before reunifying.
Military actions on both sides have subsided and life is getting back to normal. It is possible there will be higher level meetings between government officials from both sides of the straits. We expect to see the situation gradually improve between China and Taiwan. Both countries know that continued conflict only hurts their economies.
An unexpected result of the tense elections is a greater feeling on the part of Taiwanese to develop their national identity. There had been a rising call for international recognition of Taiwan's achievements, not only economically but politically. The successful elections have boosted Taiwan's self-confidence.
Thanks for all the prayers, letters and email that we received. The Lord protected us and His Church. We saw no panic among our members, but rather peace knowing that He was in control.
Continue to pray for wisdom on both sides. Especially pray that God uses this to advance his Kingdom in both Taiwan and China. A leader from our church recently visited China and commented that only the gospel of Jesus Christ will turn the hearts of Chinese away from money to the true spiritual wealth won for all in Jesus.
Email and comments to Rob Siirila
Return to WELS Taiwan Mission News
April 2, 1996