The World Alliance of Reformed Churches has broken ranks with other world church bodies in saying that it understands that the Taiwanese people's aspirations for the country may include independence.

Taiwan

In a carefully worded statement from Torre Pellice, Italy, the executive committee of the Alliance said in July that it "supports and accompanies the efforts of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan for the people's aspiration for the political future of Taiwan. We understand that this may include self-determination and independence."

The executive committee also asked its general secretary, Setri Nyomi, to write to the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan for further information about the position of the church and the wider society on the future of Taiwan.

The Presbyterian church has long been in the forefront of the campaign for Taiwanese self-determination and respect for human rights on the island. A former general secretary of the church, CM Kao, was imprisoned for his opposition to the Kuomintang dictatorship. The church is no more likely to support communist rule for the island.

Even though Taiwan functions as an independent country, the People's Republic of China, only 130 kilometres away, regards it as a renegade province.An official declaration of independence by Taiwan would certainly cause deep anger in Beijing and could even provoke a military attack or invasion from the mainland.

Taiwanese divide into those who support independence for the territory, those who want the country to continue as it is, and those who favour eventual unification with China.

In the discussion preceding the vote, Alliance president CS Song, a member of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, made an impassioned plea for the Alliance to move beyond its previous stances.

These statements had never, Song said, included the word "independence" but only went as far as to mention "self-determination" for Taiwan. "After 30 years, we are still repeating the same ambiguous statements," Song argued.

Song, who is Taiwanese, is a professor at the Pacific School of Religion, part of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

"Now that Taiwan is fully democratic, we are not going to be dictated to by the government in China or in the United States," Song said.

"Here is a member church struggling under the military threat of China," he contended. "We shouldn't have a double standard: If we dare speak against the United States [when the US administration acts in ways we think wrong], we should speak against China."

The Taiwanese Presbyterian church is also a member of the World Council of Churches, the world's biggest ecumenical organization.

However, the World Council of Churches has never mentioned the wish among some Taiwanese for independence, Song, a former WCC staff member, told ENI. "They have been hedging," said Song, who added that he understood this diplomatically, since the China Christian Council was also a member of the WCC.

WARC normally takes positions on individual countries only at the behest of a member church in the country.

Several members of the committee were concerned that in reflecting the wishes of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, WARC's recommendation should not disregard the China Christian Council.

"It is important for me that the China Christian Council doesn't see this as a choice of one church position against them, but as accompanying all of our churches," Nyomi told ENI after the vote. "We feel it's important to support our churches."

WARC/ENI