January 2-8, 2012
Headline News
Church leaders in Taiwan call for clean elections free from vote-buying
Reported by Lin Yi-ying
Written by Lydia Ma
In view of the upcoming presidential and legislative election on January 14, 2012, PCT General Assembly called a press conference on January 8, to underscore the importance of ensuring a peaceful transfer of power. National Council of Churches Taiwan also passed a resolution recently urging all political parties to play fair and abstain from vote buying and illegal betting for the sake of achieving a fair and clean election.
PCT General Secretary Andrew Chang said that Beijing had conducted missile tests in past elections to threaten Taiwanese voters, but has turned to powerful Taiwanese corporations and the media this time to influence the outcome of Taiwanese elections. Nevertheless, he hoped that free elections in Taiwan would become a model for China in the future and thus stressed on the importance of a peaceful transfer of power regardless of the outcome on election day. Having said that, he also hoped that all political parties would also respect the outcome of this election.
Similarly, the National Council of Churches Taiwan unanimously passed a resolution on December 13th, 2011 urging all candidates and parties to steer clear from vote buying and illegal betting. Serving as the current NCCT Chairman, Chang emphasized that vote-buying would cause serious setbacks and inflict severe damages to Taiwanese democracy. He added that this resolution represented the cry of all churches in Taiwan, regardless of denomination, and also echoed an international norm.
Methodist Church in ROC Governor Lin Chang-tseng said his church wholly supported NCCT’s resolution because only a clean, fair, and transparent election could improve the electoral quality and culture in Taiwan. He urged all churches in Taiwan to work together in normalizing elections by putting an end to vote-buying and illegal betting.
Taiwan Lutheran Church Bishop Rev. Chen Chih-hung underscored that justice is the key to a nation’s greatness. He added that though every presidential and legislative candidate has qualities and shortcomings, the most important aspect voters should consider is a candidates moral character instead of outward appearances, because moral character will have a lasting impact. To illustrate his point, he advised voters against voting for candidates who had used underhanded tactics during their campaigns.
Archbishop of Taipei John Hung said the NCCT’s resolution demonstrated well the Christian Church’s prophetic role in society and the Catholic Church wholly supported this resolution. He added that churches ought to be more concerned about national politics and policies so as to advance God’s will on earth.
