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Taiwan

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 Taiwan
The Bahá’í National Office of Taiwan.
Location of Taiwan
National Office Taipei, Taiwan
National AssemblyTaiwan
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 23,859,912
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source 16,000 
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 16,672
Local Assemblies 13
History:
Firsts
 -  Bahá'í to visit 1935, Husayn Ouskouli[2] 
 -  Pioneers 1949, Chu Yao-lung 
 -  Local Assembly 1956, Tainan 
 -  National Assembly 1967 
How to contact:
 -  Phone 886-2-27070347
886-2-27070392 
 -  Fax 886-2-2704 - 2515 
 -  Email secretariat [at] bahai.org.tw
 -  Address 3F, #149-13, Sec. 1
Shin Shen South Road
Taipei, Taiwan 
Official Website http://www.bahai.org.tw/
Related media
Categories: Taiwan • People

Taiwan is an island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of mainland China. Standard Chinese is the official language with Buddhism, Taoism, and atheism being the predominant beliefs.

Taiwan consists of a main island which was historically known as Formosa and also several much smaller islands. The area has been inhabited for at least 20,000 years. In 1895 the islands came under Japanese rule and remained under the jurisdiction of Japan until the end of the Second World War in 1945. The Chinese Civil war resulted in the Nationalist government of China retreating to the island in 1949 with the People's Democratic Republic of China securing control of mainland China.

The Bahá’í Faith was brought to Taiwan in 1949 with a community being established in the 1950s. The community experienced periods of rapid growth in the 1960s and 1980s and remains active to the present day.

History[edit]

In 1935 Husayn Ouskouli, a Persian Bahá’í living in Shanghai, visited Taiwan on a business trip and he gave Bahá’í literature in Chinese to several people.[3]

The first Bahá’í to live in Taiwan was likely Chu Yao-lung, also known as Jerome, who was a Chinese Bahá’í who declared in the United States in 1947 and moved to Taiwan in 1949.[4] He was joined the same year by three Bahá’ís from mainland China who moved to Taiwan to work as government employees who were Mr. Chu, Chien Tien-lee, and Mason Yuan, and another Bahá’í, Yuan Hsu-chang, also moved to the island from the mainland before the end of 1949.[5]

In 1952 American Bahá’ís David M. Earl and John S. McHenry II made travel teaching trips to Taiwan, and in 1953 Mildred and Rafi Mottahedeh also made a travel teaching trip to the island.[5] In 1953 the Ten Year Crusade was launched which made consolidating the Faith on Taiwan a goal of the international Bahá’í community and in November that year Hand of the Cause Zikrullah Khadem visited the Bahá’ís of Taiwan.[6] In 1954 Suleiman A. Suleimani and his wife Riḍvániyyih pioneered to Taiwan.[3] They established a Bahá’í study class conducted in Chinese and on Naw-Ruz in 1955 four attendees declared with the island having twenty-one Bahá’ís by the end of 1955.[7]

In 1955 Zikrullah Khadem made a second visit to Taiwan staying for four days and he was able to attend a commemoration of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh and deepen the community.[8] In 1956 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tainan was established,[9] and in November that year the first Bahá’í Teaching Conference in Taiwan was held with Agnes Alexander visiting the country from Japan for three weeks to support the event.[10]

In April, 1957, the Tainan Bahá’í community was able to send a delegate to the first election of the National Spiritual Assembly of North East Asia which had jurisdiction over the Bahá’í community of Taiwan,[11] and Jalal Khazeh visited Taiwan after the establishment of the National Assembly to support efforts to secure official recognition of the Faith.[12] In September, 1957, the first Bahá’í Summer School of Taiwan was held.[13]

In April, 1958, Edith and Keith Danielsen-Craig pioneered to Taipei and shortly after their arrival Pershing Wang declared allowing for the establishment of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Taipei that year. Although changes to the administrative structure of the city resulted in the Assembly lapsing the following year the community remained active with the Taipei Assembly being firmly established in 1965.[14] As of 1958 there were twenty-two Bahá’ís in the country living in Tainan, Taipei, Tsoying, Hsin-ying, and Chia-yi.[15] In 1959 the Bahá’ís of Taiwan secured a building to serve as the Bahá’í Center of Tainan and that years Summer School was held in the building.[16]

In late 1960 Taipei established a Bahá’í youth group and the following year Muhammad Labib visited the country on a successful travel teaching trip.[17] In January, 1963, the first Bahá’í wedding in Taiwan took place in Tainain.[18] In February, 1963, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir visited Taiwan for the first time and while on the island he consulted with the community and strongly recommended that mass teaching be undertaken. He continued making regular visits to the island to support and encourage teaching efforts.[19] In November, 1963, two Summer Schools were held in Taiwan for the first time with one in Taipei and another in Tainan.[20]

As of 1964 Taiwan had two Local Spiritual Assemblies, seven Bahá’í groups, and around one hundred Bahá’ís,[21] and in 1965 a National Administrative Committee for Taiwan was established which assumed responsibility for planning teaching activities and summer schools, establishing a periodical, and producing translations and publishing literature among other duties. Growth of the Bahá’í community began to accelarate in the mid 1960's with over four hundred people declaring between 1965 and 1966,[22] and at Ridvan 1966 Local Spiritual Assemblies were established in Hualian and Pingtung bringing the number of Assemblies on the island to four.[23] The community was bolstered by visits from Ṭaráẓu’lláh Samandarí, Collis Featherstone, and Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir throughout 1966.[24]

In 1967 a National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds was secured in Taipei and that year the first National Convention of Taiwan was held in the building with the independent National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan being established.[25] In 1968 Riḍvániyyih Suleimani was appointed as the first Auxiliary Board member assigned to Taiwan.[26] In 1970 the National Assembly was officially incorporated with the government of Taiwan, in 1972 a Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Taiwan was established, and in 1973 Bahá’í marriage was officially recognized.[27]

In 1974 Bahá’í children's classes began to be held at the Tainan Bahá’í Centre and in 1975 the Women and Children's Committee of the Bahá’ís of Taiwan held a one day institute on Bahá’í family life then an institute on Bahá’í marriage the following year.[28] In the late 1970's several pioneers arrived in Taiwan to support teaching efforts which included a campaign of placing advertisements for the Faith on bus posters which resulted in significant interest.[29] In 1979 Rúḥíyyih Khánum spent three weeks in Taiwan.[30]

In the early 1980's the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Taiwan produced Chinese language prayer books and fostered positive relationships with the government,[31] with Suleiman A. Suleimani being granted an award for contributing to the religious welfare of the people of Taiwan by the Governor of Taiwan.[32] In the mid-1980's the Publishing Trust began to increase its production of Chinese language publications,[33] and in January, 1986, a copy of The Promise of World Peace message from the Universal House of Justice was presented to the Mayor of Taipei.[34] In the late 1980's Taiwan's Bahá’í community experienced rapid growth with the communities size increasing by seven hundred percent,[35] with three of the smaller islands of Taiwan being opened to the Faith.[36] The growth prompted Rúḥíyyih Khánum to visit the island in 1989 spending five weeks touring the area.[37]

In 1989 the National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan established an Office of the Environment which co-sponsored a series of teacher training sessions on environmental education across the island in 1990. The Office was able to sponsor a second series of workshops in 1991 with the activity receiving widespread media coverage.[38] As of 1992 the Bahá’í community of Taiwan was estimated to have fourteen thousand members,[39] and that year the community hosted a celebration of the 130th Anniversary of the Bahá’í Faith in China.[40] In December, 1994, a Bahá’í delegation met with the Premier of Taiwan.[41] In 1999 a major earthquake effected Taiwan and the Bahá’í community provided children's classes and a weekly one hour radio program to assist in recovery from anxiety and depression due to the earthquake.[42]

In 2004 the 50th Anniversary of Suleiman and Ridvaniyyih Suleimani arriving in Taiwan was celebrated in Tainan.[43]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ "巴哈依教(大同教)在台湾早期的传教活动". bahai-academic.hk. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 R. Sims 1994, p. 4.
  4. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 63.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 R. Sims 1994, p. 6.
  6. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 7.
  7. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 9.
  8. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 11.
  9. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 14.
  10. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 17.
  11. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 15.
  12. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 24.
  13. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 21.
  14. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 25.
  15. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 28.
  16. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 30.
  17. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 33.
  18. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 37.
  19. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 35.
  20. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 36.
  21. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 40.
  22. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 41.
  23. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 44.
  24. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 45.
  25. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 50.
  26. ↑ R. Sims 1994, p. 54.
  27. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 262. View as PDF.
  28. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1978). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 16 (1973-1976), Pg(s) 240. View as PDF.
  29. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 178. View as PDF.
  30. ↑ Baha'i News (1979). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 581, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  31. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 183. View as PDF.
  32. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 105. View as PDF.
  33. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 162. View as PDF.
  34. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 342. View as PDF.
  35. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 306. View as PDF.
  36. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 307. View as PDF.
  37. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 310. View as PDF.
  38. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 322. View as PDF.
  39. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 137. View as PDF.
  40. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1993). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 21 (1992-1993), Pg(s) 142. View as PDF.
  41. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1996). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 23 (1994-1995), Pg(s) 85. View as PDF.
  42. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2001). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 28 (1999-2000), Pg(s) 80. View as PDF.
  43. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2006). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 33 (2004-2005), Pg(s) 61. View as PDF.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

  • Taiwan at Curlie (formerly DMOZ)
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