From George Mackay to Todd Bentley

As a resident of five years in Tamsui (Danshui), one thing I can say I love this small town of 30 minutes north of Taipei City is that it is full of exotic history.

Take George Leslie Mackay, for example. He's the first foreign missionary who travelled all the way from Canada, entered the north Taiwan in 1880s, and settled down in Danshui. He married a local woman, and was buried here after his death. As a matter of fact, there's a family graveyard right here. And there's a Mackay's Day dedicated to him, which happens on the first day of June each year.

George Leslie Mackay (馬偕 or 偕叡理; Pe̍h-oē-jī: Kai Sūi-lí or Má-kai; born March 21, 1844; died June 2, 1901) was the first Presbyterian missionary to northern Formosa (Taiwan). He served with the Canadian Presbyterian Mission. Mackay is among the best known Westerners to have lived in Taiwan. (from wikipedia)

The graveyard is located inside Tam Kang High School (淡江中學). My understanding is the school was built on the land donated by Dr. Mackay.

A closer look at the tomb.

The family graveyard.

A smaller one.

A grandson served as teacher in Tam Kang High School.

Inside the Tam Kang High School

The archway

A rugby football is being played on the school's sportsfield.

Tam Kang High School has a very beautiufl campus. But it's made even more famous by the movie Secret, directed by Jay Chou and released in 2007. Now a lot of couples would stop by to shoot their wedding photos here.

There're many a legacy left by Dr. Mackay in Danshui. At least a hospital was named after him. Another is the small Christian base he built here.

I've heard that several local ministers have left for Florida Outpouring in the U.S. And in case you have not heard of it, Todd Bentley, also from Canada, is raising the dead over there. I don't know what to think of it. Guess it's a leap-of-faith kind of thing.



檢視較大的地圖

President Ma to Japan: Read My Lips...Forget it!

Well, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is officially a 'stay-at-home geek' (宅男) now. Or at least that's what locals are calling him now, after he refused to face the public and play it tough as he claimed he would.

(Here in Taiwan, 'stay-at-home geek' (宅男, Zhai Nan) refers to someone who likes to stay behind a computer screen and rarely has social connection with the outside world.)

A Taiwanese fishing boat was sank around Diaoyutai Islands (or Senkaku in Japanese version) after being rammed by a Japanese coastguard vessel.

Too bad that President Ma simply hides away in this Red House ( the Presidential Office) and said nothing when merely three years ago as Mayor of Taipei, he had strongly suggested that the then-President Chen Shui-bien should consider use of military force to protect Taiwanese fishing boats around the islands.

But wait, where are Diaoyutai Islands? According to wikipedia,

The Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyutai Islands are a group of disputed, uninhabited islands currently controlled by Japan, but also claimed by both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) (Taiwan). The islands are located roughly northeast of Taiwan, due west of Okinawa, and due north of the end of the Ryukyu Islands in the East China Sea.

Diaoyutai Islands are 135 miles off the Northeast coast of Taiwan.

Here's the video of what then-Mayor Ma Ying-jeou had to say about confronting the Japanese coastguards around the Diaoyutai Islands. The clip was in Mandarin Chinese, but I've managed to do a simple translation. Feel free to correct me for any mistake.




Translation of Ma's words:
I rarely find any President who was so weak that ...

when confronting with the status of Diaoyutai Islands, he dares not speak out that the islands are part of Taiwan's territory.

If the government can not show its determination to use force when dealing with a foreign nation, it is doomed to be bullied.

How could anyone be (so stupid enough to) not knowing this?

As President, he should blame himself for this.

As the leader of the nation, he should stand up and say it out loud that...

'Diaoyutai is ours.'

'The fishing waters are ours.'

He (Chen Shui-bien) is the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

When the sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is violated,

He has to say something, or who will speak for us?

- end of translation -

OK, so President Ma, could you please come out of your hiding in the Red House, and say it out loud and clear for us that Diaoyutai is ours, and you would consider to use any military force necessary to protect it? Just like you did three years ago? (But of course I bet you won't)

P.S. Finally on late Thursday evening, Ma did send his spokesman to say it for him. Well, it's not a very good spin.

To give you the idea about how big the Diaoyutai Island is.


If you walk around the island, it's roughly the same distance between Intel, the Centrino chip-maker in Mountain View, Ca. and Apple, the iPhone 3G maker in Cupertino.