• Bro. Zhanxiang Liu •
On August 1, 1949, the Work in Taiwan
Beginning Officially in Taipei
Taiwan Being Very Backward at the Time
and I Being Unaccustomed
Hence, we need to forget all the human factors and look at the facts and the fruit. May the Lord cover me with His blood. I do not feel so free to speak because I am involved in some of these matters. Nevertheless, I feel that I must clearly speak about some of the facts in our history. In December of 1947 several co-workers came to Hong Kong. At that time only a small number of saints were meeting in Hong Kong. There were not more than a hundred people in the gathering when I first spoke here. We stayed for about seven days and left. Near the end of 1948 the political situation in mainland China took a dramatic turn. In April 1949 the work arranged for me to leave the mainland and go to Taiwan. I arrived in Taiwan in May and looked at the situation there. From a human point of view, there was nothing but disappointment and discouragement. Up to that point in time on the mainland, especially in Shanghai, the work had been greatly blessed by the Lord, and a large number of saints were meeting. On the Lord’s Day morning, close to two thousand saints attended the meeting. Whenever there was a gospel meeting, the number in attendance reached over two thousand. We also had just completed the construction of a big meeting hall on Nanyang Road in Shanghai that could seat three thousand people with seating for two thousand more in the courtyard. When the windowpanes were being fitted and the interior of the meeting hall was being painted, I was sent away by the work to Taiwan. I had a very deep feeling at that time, because this meeting hall was constructed under my leading, and not everything was fully in place. Nevertheless, the co-workers sent a me a telegram, asking me to leave Shanghai and go to Taiwan. Taiwan was very backward at the time; the streets were covered with pebbles, and most people wore getas that made a very loud sound when they walked. I was unaccustomed to this, and I constantly asked the Lord about His intentions for me here.
Traveling along the North-south Rail Line
to Visit the Brothers and Sisters
In June or July I had the feeling to travel along the north-south rail line to visit the brothers and sisters who lived at various places along the rail line. At that time there were about three hundred saints who had retreated to Taiwan and who had positions with government agencies, schools, or hospitals. They were scattered throughout the major cities, but there was not much communication between them. So I traveled along the rail line and visited the saints. At that time there were meetings only in Kaohsiung and Taichung in addition to Taipei. In other places there were prayer meetings.
On August 1, 1949, the Work in Taiwan
Beginning Officially in Taipei
After visiting these places, I inwardly felt that much could be done in the work of the Lord even though Taiwan was small. I fellowshipped with the brothers and asked them to put an announcement in the newspaper to let the saints know that a number of brothers had begun to meet in Taipei. We also publicized the address of the meeting place in hope that the brothers and sisters would get in touch with us. Though this means many saints who went to Taiwan were reconnected. On August 1, 1949, the work in Taiwan began officially with a conference in Taipei.
By 1955 There Being Thirty to Forty Churches
with a Total of about Twenty Thousand Saints
By the end of 1949 the number meeting in Taipei was close to a thousand. In half a year the number meeting in Taipei increased almost thirtyfold. At that time I was the only one serving full time. All the other brothers and sisters had jobs. In 1951 we had an unofficial training. After the training eighty to one hundred full-time serving ones were raised up. In the fall of 1953 we began the first official training, which lasted for four months. This training was very much blessed by the Lord; the spiritual condition of the training was very high. By 1955 there were thirty to forty churches with a total of about twenty thousand saints on the island of Taiwan. When we began the work in 1949, there were no more than three to five hundred saints, but by 1955 the saints numbered close to twenty thousand. In 1957 there were between forty to fifty local churches with twenty-three thousand saints on the island of Taiwan. This was the situation from 1949 to 1957.
References: CWWL, 1970, vol. 3, “The Proper Attitude When Facing Turmoils”, ch. 6, Knowing a Tree by Its Fruit