[3134] Christian youths are leaders and models in youth awakening movement

Christian youths are leaders and models in youth awakening movement

Reported by Simon Lin

Written by Lydia Ma

March 29 is Youth Day in Taiwan and Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare is suggesting this year that the date be moved to August 12 to coincide with the U.N. International Youth Day. But regardless of which day it falls on, this day is a good opportunity to review the role of youths, especially church youths, in shaping and transforming society.

As the nation marked the 65^th anniversary of the 228 Massacre on February 28 of this year, a student organization at National Cheng-Kung University decided that it needed to do something original to raise awareness of past mistakes and call on government and school authorities to hold the perpetrators of the massacre accountable. With this in mind, members of the student organization O2 Group – whose name is a phonetic translation of “protest” in Taiwanese – decided to “artfully redecorate” the statue of Chiang Kai-shek inside NCKU campus .

Students hung a paper board that read “1947-2012” on the statue of Chiang Kai-shek and wrote the names of victims of the 228 Massacre on pieces of paper and placed them around the statute and along the ground nearby. They also sprayed red paint on the statue and on the ground as if to say that the blood of innocent people is still crying out for justice. On one of Chiang’s hand, they attached a dummy to symbolize the shadow of authoritarianism still lurking in Taiwan.

NCKU officials condemned this incident and promptly ordered the school’s maintenance crew to clean up the area. In response, the 02 Group posted a statement on its website to claim responsibility and accept punishment. “However, taking responsibility for our actions doesn’t mean that we regret what we did, because we don’t.” The statement went on to say that after considering all possible consequences for redecorating Chiang’s bronze statue, 02 Group still decided to go ahead as planned because it wanted Taiwanese to see it and think long and hard about the meaning of the 228 Peace Memorial Day.

“As February 28 approached, we began to discuss what we could do as the most prominent student activist organization,” said 02 Group President and Tingchin Presbyterian Church member Chen Yi-chen. She added that the only motive for redecorating the statue was to point out that injustices remain to this day.

After the incident was picked up and reported by the media, nationwide debate on this matter ensued. National Taiwan University Students soon launched a petition to express their solidarity with NCKU students and their petition also underscored that they regretted NCKU officials’ attitude. Within days, more than 10 student associations around Taiwan also expressed their support and organizations such as the 228 Care Committee and Taiwan Teachers Alliance also expressed support. Though some people expressed their opposition, issues such as whether to do away with Chiang Kai-shek’s bronze statue and transitional justice were widely discussed.

Rev. Soong Hsin-le, senior pastor of Tingchin Presbyterian Church, called Chen after this incident to encourage her and affirm her actions, underscoring that, as a Christian church, the PCT is opposed to both idol worship of Chiang and authoritarianism. “She has a lot of courage,” he said. “Though she may have to face many hardships for the time being, we are confident that her faith will help her stand and remain strong.”

Chen underscored that many of the student organizations that showed their support and signed petitions were founded in the aftermath of the Wild Strawberry Student Movement. These student organizations across Taiwan maintain contact with one another through the Internet and support one another’s events.

Though Tungning Presbyterian Church member and 02 Group’s first president, Lin Fei-fan, already graduated from NCKU and currently studies at National Taiwan University, he still cares about his alma mater and his friends at NCKU. Looking back at the Wild Strawberry Student Movement, he underscored that it had a lasting effect on youths across Taiwan. The 02 Group’s goals are to encourage introspection on existing social values and lifestyles, teach youths to care for their land, and teach youths to become independent thinkers who can contribute to the future of their society.

Chen Yi-chen said that many people in Taiwan lack the ability to discern unjust and unreasonable situations. In most cases, even if people can discern, they act as if these injustices are none of their business. “They like to encourage others to pursue their dreams but label social activists as a bunch of lazy people. What we want to do is to change society’s perspective on this.”

For this reason, the 02 Group has used symposiums, book studies, and public viewing of documentaries to raise awareness on various issues such as human rights and environmental protection. It hopes that these discussions will help people think independently and critically on social issues such as ECFA and Kuokuang Petrochemical’s naphtha plants.