Although the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has ordained women since 1950, when the church celebrated the 50th anniversary in 2000, there were still congregations that refused to accept women as their pastor, says Rev. Lin Ni-Ling of the PCT's Women's Ministry Committee.
POPULATION: 23,036,000
MEDIAN AGE: 34.6 years
BIRTH RATE: 12.56 births / 1,000 population
DEATH RATE: 6.48 deaths / 1,000 population
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH: 77.43 years
INFANT MORTALITY RATE: 6.29 deaths / 1,000 live births
HIV/AIDS ADULT PREVALENCE RATE: n/a
PEOPLE LIVING WITH AIDS: n/a
RELIGIONS: mixture of Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
LITERACY (age over 15 can read and write): 96.1%
POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LINE: 0.9%
CURRENCY: New Taiwan dollar (1 TWD = 4 cents CDN)
SOURCE: CIA World Factbook
However, women do find greater acceptance in certain situations. “Women ministers are more willing to take on the responsibility in rural areas and small churches and are willing to participate in teamwork,” said Ni-Ling. “Men often want to be the only one in charge.”
Ni-Ling was in Canada last November along with Rev. Ibu Kanbudan to travel from Quebec to British Columbia to visit with women from the Women's Missionary Society, and to further discuss a possible exchange program between the two groups.
“The PCT has received so many missionaries from the PCC,” said Ni-Ling. “This church has been a great partner to mission in Taiwan, so this is a new starting point to strengthen our sisterhood.”
Kanbudan has worked in a congregation for three years. As an aboriginal person, her ministry has led her to serve her own people, the Bunan tribe, in a small village. The village is divided into three areas and has two Presbyterian churches. There are 12 indigenous tribes in Taiwan, and Kanbudan ministers to the nation's fourth-largest.
While about 17 per cent of PCT's ministers, or 1,200 people, are women, Kanbudan said this is higher in indigenous tribes (her presbytery has a female moderator). This is heightened in the Amis tribe, where marriage follows matriarchal lines, with the man leaving his family's home for his wife's.
Both women discussed the diffi culties women face, and the confusion that abounds in what is still a traditional society when it comes to gender roles. “In my church, if you have an ability, no matter if you're male or female, you can teach the people,” said Kanbudan, “but the Bible says that women can't preach, and people are confused by that.”
“Education of women in Taiwan is pretty equal; post-secondary education is about 50/50,” said Ni-Ling, who first went to church when she was 12 years old, was baptized at 18 and then went to seminary. “Still, because the woman's role in the family is still very important, it is a dilemma, and will be forever I think, for women to fulfill their family role and their career.
“Sometimes people are still not willing to share an equal partnership with women, so it's a big challenge to fulfill a calling from God.”
Both women said they were looking forward to seeing how Canadian women are treated, both in and out of the church. They were also to visit several of the church's native ministries.
“I believe the WMS does so much work because they have strong members who are willing to serve God,” said Ni-Ling. “And it's good for me to see the homeland of the missionaries who have contributed to ministry in Taiwan.”
