01/20/2024 Taiwan (International Christian Concern) – Taiwan, a sovereign territory of China and self-governing nation along the southern coast of China, held elections on Jan. 13 that resulted in a peaceful transition of power to new President Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai.
Lai is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which focuses on pro-democracy efforts and is outspoken about pro-independence from China. The win for the DPP according to expert Vincent Chao, spokesperson for Lai and Head of International Affairs for the DPP, “demonstrates high value in democracy and checks and balances due to the difference in parties for the president and the parliament majority.” Taiwan’s election cycle lasts just two years, leaving the president little time to show meaningful change.
Taiwan is a country comprised of approximately 23.6 million people, only 6.9% of whom identify as Christian. Taiwan boasts an interesting diaspora of people with only about 582,000 native Taiwanese citizens actively living in the country and a majority of 705,000 who qualify as foreign workers coming from Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
According to 2022 Ministry of Labor (MOL) statistics and the Council of Indigenous Peoples, majority of the indigenous population is protestant or Roman Catholic. Vietnamese workers are predominantly Buddhist, Indonesian workers are predominantly Muslim, and Filipino workers are predominantly Roman Catholic.
Taiwanese Christians are protected under the constitution that provides for “free exercise and equal treatment under the law of all religions, which ‘shall not be restricted by law’ except as necessary for reasons of protecting the freedoms of others, imminent danger, social order, or public welfare,” according to the U.S. International Religious Freedom Report of 2022.
Taiwan is not often criticized in the realm of international religious freedom and for good reason. The situation in Taiwan both legally and societally stays relatively peaceful as it pertains to religious freedom. International Christian Concern (ICC) is hopeful for the reign of President Lai as the new party has the potential to make significant changes.
We pray for continued peace in Taiwan for Christians and for the new President Lai. We pray that his upcoming term would glorify God and show continued protection for religious freedom. We thank God for his providence.
