Foreign workers among the Muslims of Taiwan
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Taiwan’s Foreign Workforce: 336,985
Indonesian: 79,650 (23.6%)
Filipino: 91,995 (27.3%)
Thai: 93,673 (27.8%)
Vietnamese: 71,618 (21.2%)
Islam first reached Taiwan in the 17th century when Muslim families from the southern Chinese coastal province of Fujian accompanied Koxinga on his invasion to oust the Dutch from Taiwan. But their descendants became assimilated into the local Taiwanese society adopting the local customs and religions, and Islam did not expand.
In 1949, some 20,000 Muslims, mostly soldiers and civil servants, fled mainland China with the Kuomintang (non-communist government) to Taiwan. Two mosques were built in the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung to meet the needs of the Muslim community. In 1989, in order to carry out 14 major construction projects, the Taiwanese government recruited foreign labourers to solve the labour shortage problems. Since that time the use of foreign workers has become a major source of cheap labour in Taiwan. They are mostly employed in manufacturing, construction and house-keeping activities (over 60% are women). They are only allowed to legally stay for a period of six years.
Foreign Workers in Taiwan
No statistics are available concerning the number of Muslim foreign labourers, but it is probable that a high percentage of Indonesians are Muslims. They have not only contributed to the Taiwanese economy but they have also shared their food, customs, traditions and beliefs with the Taiwanese. Some foreign workers have married Taiwanese nationals and started families. Unfortunately many of them and their children are facing harsh treatment and discrimination in their every day life from the indigenous population. During Ramadan, Muslim workers are known to be fasting. Of the six mosques in Taiwan today, three of them were built during the 1980s and were funded by overseas donations, especially from the Middle East. As the number of Muslims traveling to and from Taiwan has increased, Taiwan’s two major international airports have adapted to provide prayer rooms for Muslims in their terminals.
Reaching Out
Some Taiwanese churches and ministries have reached out to the different ethnic groups. Happily many Christian workers speak several languages. Some pastors are originally from the Philippines, Thailand and even Indonesia. They need Bibles and other resources in various languages. Many Taiwanese Christians also use foreign workers for domestic employment. Hopefully many of them will strive to bring the message of salvation to their employees. May many more Muslim workers discover the Lord before they return to their homelands. They can play an important role in the growing church movements among their countrymen.
Prayer request:
* May the Lord cause more Taiwanese Christians to seek the salvation of the foreign labours around them in order to reach out to individuals and even whole families from Muslim backgrounds.
* May the Lord will raise up more local Christian workers who are willing to learn the languages and cultures cultures of the foreign workers in order to establish relationships in the hope of bringing them to Christ.
* May God open the hearts of large numbers of foreign workers to Gospel.
* Christian literature, brochures, tracts, audio and video material in various languages are needed.
Background on Taiwan (World Factbook)
In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the local population within the governing structure. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia’s economic “Tigers.” The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform.
Economy of Taiwan
The island runs a trade surplus, and foreign reserves are the world’s third largest. Despite restrictions on cross-strait links, China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan’s largest export market and, in 2006, its second-largest source of imports after Japan. China is also the island’s number one destination for foreign direct investment. Strong trade performance in 2006 pushed Taiwan’s GDP growth rate above 4%, and unemployment is below 4%.
Statistics About Taiwan
Population: 22,920,946 (July 2008 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 77.76 years
Ethnic Groups: Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, indigenous 2%
Religions: mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
Languages: Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
Literacy: 96.1% - male, na%, female, na%
“Taiwan Will Touch Your Heart” promotional Video
Very nicely done, even if it is an advert.
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Filed under: Asia, East by TDI
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The World Factbook is wrong. Taiwan has never ‘reverted” to Chinese control. The San Francisco Peace Treaty forced Japan to give up sovereignty over the island in 1951, six years after the Nationalists occupied it. No recipient of sovereignty was named in the treaty, and it was the position of all the Powers, including the US, that Taiwan’s status was undecided.
Michael
The “statistics about taiwan” were looking really shady to me, and I felt discouraged that the organizers weren’t doing enough fact-checking. BUT DONT LET THAT DISTRACT YOU. I even felt like it might be the tactic Satan was using to draw us away, before I read Michael’s comment. Now I’m even more sure. Let’s be dilligent and vigilant, but always remember our main focus is praying for these muslim groups to be reconciled to Christ.
Ahlee, an Indonesia woman living in Taiwan was regularly attending some Christian worship services. Three years previously, she had gone back to Indonesia to visit her hometown. A neighbor encouraged her to obtain a special amulet from a sorcerer for her protection. As a result Ahlee still went to church and read her Indonesian Bible, but she grew very little in her faith. However, one day she met a former Buddhist in church. He explained to her how he had also had an amulet, but he eventually he threw it away when he realized that it was hindering his life with Christ. Afterwards his life was transformed. Ahlee followed his advice to throw away her amulet. She put her faith in Christ alone and found real life.