April 11-17, 2011
Headline News
Retired elder Grandma Hsieh Shu admonishes President Ma to do the right thing
Reported by Chen Wei-chien
Written by Lydia Ma
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou attended an “anti-Kuokuang petrochemical project luncheon” on April 3, 2011, before visiting wetlands near Fangyuan, where Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Corporation plans to build a new naphtha cracker soon with the support of the Ma administration. Ma was heckled during this luncheon for his administration’s support of building the new plant.
Part of the day’s itinerary that local officials had arranged for Ma included a visit with a much-respected local elder, Mrs. Hsieh Shu. This nearly 70-years-old woman and devout woman was once an elder of Fangyuan Presbyterian Church in Changhua.
Upon their meeting, Hsieh admonished President Ma to use the Bible as his guide. “It’s only by complying with the people’s wishes that the Lord will crown you with righteousness and exalt you,” she told him.
Though Hsieh is no longer an elder at her church, she is still very involved in local town meetings and local church activities. She has also done several interviews with other media outlets on protecting wetlands in Changhua, including a recent one with the BBC.
Not wanting to appear as though she would purposely heckle a national leader, she underscored instead that she was glad to see so many people beginning to pay attention to preserving wetlands and she was convinced they were on the right track. “But when you see those in leadership more interested in profits than in the will of the people, when you see them willing to destroy the environment for a mere decade of profits, then, you wonder, how could Ma Ying-jeou do this?”
Hsieh also remarked during a phone interview with Taiwan Church News that many national reporters have interviewed her in the past, but somehow their interviews or stories were never aired or published, making her suspect these stories were eventually buried by upper management.
Unlike other farmers in her area, Hsieh said she prays for Ma and his administration. “Every time I pray for Ma Ying-jeou, I pray he will govern with truth and justice. God created the earth and gave it to us. If we do this, we will make God angry,” she said, adding that as a little, powerless peasant facing the giant government machinery, the only thing she could do was to pray and rely on God.
To see the BBC interview with Hsieh, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/12617084
