September 5, 2010
Reported by Chen Wei-chien, Chen Yi-hsuan
Written by Lydia Ma

"You've got to learn to care for the water you drink!" said Taiwan Water Protection Alliance south region spokesperson Chen Shu-hua, who also happened to be a member of Fu-Chiang Presbyterian Church in Tainan.

She urged Taiwanese people to do their part as citizens of Taiwan by keeping an eye on elected officials so that none of them would compromise the environment for the sake of securing votes from big corporations, resulting in unethical and unsuitable land development ventures.

"A rainstorm is enough to uncover any inappropriate use of land or shady land development project," she said, referring to over-logging and razing land to make way for cash crops or dump sites near three major reservoirs in Taiwan .

Faced with the upcoming building of a petrochemical plant just 6 km from his church, Rev. Chen Che-yin began raising awareness beyond church walls on the environmental impact of this project while calling for discussion and review of this matter during Changhua Presbytery meetings.

"I only became aware of the repercussions of this project after I began pastoring at this church," he said, adding that there is lots of information available to the public for people able to tackle some of the more technical reports.

Chen underscored that water shortage and over-usage are serious problems in Taiwan. Many farmers without access to water from reservoirs often resort to using underground water to irrigate their crops.

As result, the landscape in Er-Lin Agricultural Zone is has been flattened little by little and is showing signs of caving in. If a strong typhoon were to strike the area in a decade, the area would be especially vulnerable. But what worries him most is that Er-Lin also provides 30% of the nation's food crops.

For now, Chen knows that his congregation is divided over how to deal with an environmental and water crisis. He can only raise awareness from the pulpit during Sundays PCT has set aside to focus on the environment for the time being and raise awareness among youths through Facebook or blogs.

However, he also makes a point to raise awareness on this issue among visitors and youths who visit him during mission trips in the area, hoping that younger generations will look at this issue from God's point of view.

Taiwan Church News