In addition to church pastors and elders, representatives from the Academia Sinica, the American Institute in Taiwan, and the Taiwan Militia Association attended the meeting; during the Q & A session, the relationship between the “outbreak of war” and the “result of presidential election” was discussed.
In response to the question “Whether or not the outbreak of war would be related to whom is going to be elected as the President?,” Ljavakaw Tjaljimaraw said that whether or not a typhoon would form and hit Taiwan has nothing to do with who is the President. It is also the case when it comes to war, “because the outbreak of war is a systematic outcome.” The current trend indicates that war will eventually break out.
Ljavakaw Tjaljimaraw made a presentation titled “Noah’s Ark Plan: Self-Help and Help Others, Becoming the Hope of the Community in Times of Crisis.” He first recalled that in February this year, two German reporters visited the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and conducted interviews. At that time, the reporters were surprised that the news they received in Europe was that the situation in the Taiwan Strait was tense and war was imminent, but when they actually came to Taiwan, they found that the atmosphere of society is very peaceful.
He pointed out that most Taiwanese people have not personally experienced war and may not know how to respond. The gist of Academia Formosana is to help Taiwanese people prepare in advance and work hard on what they can control and change. “Out of our deepest love for it, we won’t let anyone destroy it at will.” Academia Formosana aims to promote “Community-Based Civil Resilience” and formulates the “Noah’s Ark Plan,” managing to organize more than 1,200 Presbyterian congregations across Taiwan into a “Noah’s Ark,” with which we can help ourselves and others and safeguard home and people when the “flood of war” came upon us, proclaiming the gospel of salvation by Jesus Christ with actual actions. The Presbyterian congregations will constitute the main body of the “Noah’s Ark,” and the resources from international organizations, government agencies, and social groups will be drawn to the Ark.
Ljavakaw Tjaljimaraw pointed out that war has a front line and a rear area. It does not require everyone to carry weapons and go to the front line of the battlefield. Instead, problems such as hunger, infectious diseases, mobs, etc. are more lethal dangers for average people at the rear area, which can be prevented or, at least, reduced;
Noah’s Ark Plan works not only on deepening the cooperation among Presbyterian congregations on wartime preparedness, but also on disaster management and everyday mutual assistance.
He then explained how to draw up a security evaluation report for each specific congregation, which will include four categories of preparedness: security mapping, contextualized scenarios, resources restoration, emergency system. With this security evaluation report, the decision-making body of each congregation will be enabled to make decisions in emergencies properly and timely and the whole congregation could be educated and informed about the potential risks and the adequate reactions to emergencies.
In response, the pastor of Sagaran Church, Ngedrel Demaljalat, reminded again that the church should be alert and prepare the possible outbreak of war, and conduct relevant training in disaster and war preparedness. Tang Jiansheng, the head of Majia Village, hoped that the indigenous peoples would be proud of their own identity as aborigines and work together to protect this home island. Finally, Rev. Aravas Talalang, the minister of the evangelization ministry, closed the meeting by saying a prayer, looking forward to having deeper cooperation with Academia Formosana and continuing to promote relevant training.
