Part 4—Rounding the World with the Vice President
Taiwan, Okinawa, Japan
AT 6:20 p.m., Friday. January 18, the Civil Air Transport plane from Manila, P.R., landed at the Taipei airport, Taiwan. Two graduates of Gilead, the Taiwan branch servant and his wife, who themselves had just recently arrived on the island by plane from Okinawa, were at the foot of the CAT plane’s steps to give Fred W. Franz a surprise greeting. A delegation of Philippine bankers was arriving with him and so the airport officials allowed a number of reporters to meet the plane at the landing strip. The branch servant and his wife took advantage of this to get out there with them to meet one entrusted with higher interests, the spiritual valuables of God’s kingdom. They were of instant aid in helping the vice-president of the Watch Tower Society in disposing of the security police requirements for his short stay in this island territory of Nationalist China under President Chiang Kai-shek. Nice sleeping quarters were engaged for the night at the Friends of China Club Hotel.
The following morning, Saturday, January 19, the three, the branch servant and wife and Brother Franz, emplaned for the seventy-five-mile flight from the capital city south to Hualien on the east coast. The weather was clear as the entrancing scenery came to view through the airplane windows. The terrain below was very rugged, and the ranges of mountains distantly inland were adorned with snow, with Mount Tsugitaka projecting 12,569 feet into the sky. Also to be seen were dashing rivers, decorated here and there by small villages that were surrounded by patches of farmland amid luxuriant tropical foliage. One could well understand why the Portuguese called the island Formosa, meaning “of agreeable form; beautiful.” Soon the cliffs of the east coast came into sight, and in not many more minutes we landed outside the city of Hualien. In this picturesque, typically Chinese city there was a wait of over four hours for the next gasoline train to our destination, Chih Shang to the south. This permitted a survey of the city to be made, a typically friendly businessman, met by chance encounter, taking time off from his work to show the three visitors around, and also a chopstick dinner to be enjoyed in a native restaurant.
The trip southward to the site of the Taiwan national convention of Jehovah’s witnesses was by gasoline train and was very interesting. Though it was the middle of winter, the farmers were in the process of harvesting sugar cane. Melons, papaya, bananas, peanuts and many other useful fruits of the good earth could be seen growing in abundance. Some distance down the line we passed by Fuyuan, where a one-day assembly was held in April of 1956, when the Society’s president N. H. Knorr and his secretary, Don Adams, visited the island and 1,808 witnesses of Jehovah and persons of good will attended and 123 were immersed in Christian baptism. But now for about an hour and a half longer our gasoline rail car speeds farther to the south and reaches our station at 4:21 p.m. A missionary couple are there to welcome us.
The native brothers in Taiwan had been overjoyed to learn that, in less than a year after the one-day assembly with the Society’s president and his secretary, the Society’s vice-president would visit them and they could hold a longer assembly. This entailed much advance work. At once a site for the assembly was selected and the preparatory work went forward. The reason why the village of Chih Shang was chosen as a central location was that about six hundred of the witnesses of Jehovah live within walking distance of that village, and so the additional hundreds of conventioners that would come there could be conveniently housed and fed.
No adequate auditorium was to be had in that area, as well as no electricity. This meant much work would have to be done. Even so, any lack of conveniences was more than over. balanced by the enthusiasm and willingness of the native witnesses. Enough bamboo poles were cut and transported to the assembly site to provide benches to seat 3,000 persons. A cafeteria was constructed, complete with a kitchen of several departments. All the food eaten would be paid for in advance by the brothers through their local congregations, to facilitate matters. A handsome stage resembling a watchtower, surmounted by a big crown, was built and on it there was an attractive sign announcing to all that this was the assembly of the International Bible Students Association, a title corresponding to that of the Watch Tower Society’s branch in London, England. Nearby, to the right of the platform, stood the local Kingdom Hall that had been built by the brothers themselves. To the left of the platform stood the house of Brother Chen Ah Pang, which he vacated for the five missionaries and the Society’s vice-president to lodge in, while he and his wife and son went to his mother’s home nights to sleep.
It will be remembered that it was on April 25, 1955, that the district court in Taipei approved of the registration of the International Bible Students Association and thus the ban of eighteen years’ duration against Jehovah’s witnesses was lifted in Taiwan. But now, recently, the Chinese government has issued an order restricting the work and meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses in most of the island of Taiwan. Instantly the question arose, Would they be able to hold their planned assembly? Certainly permission had to be obtained. Immediately one of the local brothers was sent to Tai Chung to see whether the provincial government would allow them to hold the assembly. The brother contacted a responsible government official who seemed to be kindly disposed. Then, in keeping with local custom, he invited him to a meal where the matter would be discussed. There the brother explained that the Society’s vice-president, Mr. Franz, would be visiting the country and that plans had been made for a convention. The government official asked: “How do you know Mr. Franz can enter Taiwan?” The brother replied: “Mr. Franz is visiting all the free countries of the East. Only the Communist countries refuse him entry. Since the Republic of China is among the free nations, I know Mr. Franz will not have any trouble in getting into Taiwan.” The official explained that, although the temporary restriction on the activity of Jehovah’s witnesses could not be lifted now, he was sure we could have our assembly. Word concerning that would reach the witnesses at Chih Shang. Providentially, about one week before the assembly was scheduled to start, permission to hold it was granted. No field activity would be allowed in connection with the assembly, but still the witnesses of Jehovah could meet in Christian association and partake of the food from Jehovah’s table, a blessed privilege indeed.
When the four-day assembly began on Thursday, January 17, which was two days before the vice-president’s arrival, the brothers were determined to be on hand early. By 7 a.m. hundreds were already seated at the grounds, on the benches of bamboo poles, waiting for the opening session to begin.
A fine program of instruction similar to that enjoyed recently by Jehovah’s witnesses in other parts of the globe had been arranged. The district servant from Japan, Adrian Thompson, was present as convention servant, as Taiwan was up till then under the supervision of the Society’s Japanese branch office. So he gave the address of welcome. A number of talks followed, which were handled by local brothers. It was a real joy to hear the Kingdom truth being spoken in the unwritten Ami tongue to the large audience, which seemed to cling to every word. The life-giving information then being given about Jehovah’s New World society and his requirements for entering and remaining in it would be remembered, yes, it would be repeated from memory many, many times by these Ami believers for the benefit of other life-seeking persons.
The evening program began with a session of Kingdom songs led by a local brother. There was no musical instrument at hand to sound the melody, giving an introduction and accompanying the singing. The brothers here from among the Ami tribesmen have no written songbook. The four-day assembly provided a splendid opportunity for them to learn a number of the Kingdom songs. The brother leading the singing would sing the song through in the Ami language. Then, at the second singing, the audience would take up the song and sing along. They needed no musical accompaniment. Listening to their singing made a visitor realize how dear the truth is to persons who have separated themselves from the old world in this troubled land and who have come into the New World society. The evening’s program was climaxed by a missionary graduate of Gilead, who spoke on the usefulness of the Bible to Jehovah’s witnesses today.
Friday morning, January 18, the talk on dedication and its symbol, baptism, was presented. Candidates to the number of ninety-nine stood up and affirmatively answered the questions put to them to establish their readiness and fitness to be baptized in public testimony of their dedication to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ. It being the wintry rainy season, the weather had turned quite cool. Because of this, the brothers had devised a means of heating the water for the immersion in a tank that they had constructed. In short order the candidates changed clothing in the neat bamboo huts erected for that purpose, and the baptism was carried out before witnesses. Quite unusual, more men were baptized here than women. The high light of this day’s program was the showing of the Watch Tower Society’s new movie, “The Happiness of the New World Society.” This required electricity, The sound system installed on the assembly grounds also required electricity. Unfortunately it was found that the gasoline-powered generating system would not supply sufficient electricity for both the loud-speakers and the movie projector. It was after more than an hour that the film was finally shown that night by eliminating the loud-speaking system for reading the script that accompanies the film. All through this the crowd of Jehovah’s witnesses and persons of good will waited patiently in their seats. Wonder of wonders, a total of 3,029 persons were on hand to see the showing of this new film there among the mountains and under the open sky. That night, too, the Society’s vice-president arrived in Taiwan at its capital Taipei up north.
It was at evening cafeteria time, Saturday, January 19, that the new branch servant and his wife and Brother Franz were brought by a welcoming group up the road from the railroad station and through the nicely decorated entrance onto the assembly grounds. They were quartered at Chen Ah Pang’s home and refreshed with a supper of fresh fish and chicken and rice, with chopsticks for eating utensils. At 6 p.m. the day’s sessions resumed and the song conductor sang into the microphone an introduction to No. 1 of the songbook, “All Hail” (Welsh tune), and then the entire audience caught up the song. It was captivating to Occidental ears to listen to. Then the vice-president’s initial talk here began. Beside him a Chinese sister translated his words into Chinese over the same microphone. The brother to her right at another microphone understood her Chinese translation and in turn rendered it into Ami for the vast majority of the audience. The night was cool and Brother Franz spoke draped in his overcoat, but still out there in the open with mountains in the far distance was an attentive crowd of 2,094. They listened attentively to his explanation of their relationship to the Watch Tower Society and why loyalty to it was now appropriate for getting Jehovah’s world-wide work done before Armageddon. Finally he brought to their attention the subject of the special resolution against communism. The security police in the audience must have pricked up their ears and been all alert at this! We were glad they were there!
To save time, all reading of the prepared manuscript in English was eliminated, and the Chinese translator read the introductory material in Chinese and the Ami interpreter rendered it in Ami. When the resolution itself came for presentation, then, because of its technicalities, this Ami interpreter was replaced by Chen Ah Pang. Following the Chinese translation, sentence by sentence, Brother Chen used a printed Japanese translation of the resolution and translated from this into Ami. Before it is completely finished, off goes the electricity and the blackness of a moonless night engulfs the entire assembly. But flashlights quickly beam upon the manuscripts, and candles are set burning on the platform, and the presentation of the resolution goes on, and finishes. Brother Chen in Ami moves the adoption of the resolution. The Society’s district servant as convention servant seconds the motion. The vice-president now puts the question to an unseen audience, and faithfully out of the enveloping darkness comes the loud Ami yes of adoption and hearty applause. Who should join in but the police themselves! Fine! Minutes after this the electricity comes on again, but only to go off again after the crowd starts singing one verse of “All Hail” in closing. The final prayer is begun in candlelight. Then there is a bit of electric lighting of the assembly till 9 p.m., when the power is off once more, as sessions must not continue beyond that hour. The big audience disbands in darkness, but we are assured that they will all be safely guided to their lodging places in homes in the neighborhood.
Sunday, January 20, dawned cool and clear. Before the regular meeting the vice-president mounted the stage and gave those already in their seats a harmonica concert for about twenty minutes, playing Kingdom songs, to the applause of the pleased conventioners. The new branch servant, Paul Johnston, opened the day’s talks with a fine speech on “God’s Kingdom Purposes.” The vice-president’s talk followed this and encouraged them to abide in Jehovah’s New World society in heart harmony with His purposes. The audience then numbered 1,964. The public talk, “New World Peace in Our Time—Why?” was to go on in the early afternoon, at 2 p.m., to allow for the speaker to make an afternoon train back to Hualien. Many of the conventioners had come from distant parts of the island and they also had to leave early to make train connections for their homes that day. Nonetheless, 1,666 persons, many of them interested ones of the locality, assembled at the announced hour to hear the public talk.
Among those present were tribesmen from the mountains. This fact testified how the Kingdom message had at last been carried into the dangerous zone, the mountains to which the government at present prohibits access. Formerly head-hunting had been practiced by the mountaineers up there, and there was still lawlessness going on. But now up there about thirty mountain tribespeople have come into the truth, and after his public address Brother Franz had the unique pleasure of meeting three of them by special introduction.
News of the public address had spread far and wide by a most effective means of communication here, the word of mouth. Those assembled to hear were thrilled to hear authoritative proof from the Bible that New World peace will come in our time. Though low-hanging clouds threatened a downpour of rain, the audience sat attentively on those benches out in the open soaking up the rainfall of spiritual truth. The faithful translation of the speech by the Chinese sister and the Ami brother made it possible for them to understand; these two translators had worked tirelessly to bring God’s message from the platform to the audience in languages they could understand. Under the circumstances, the public speaker added final words of admonition and of farewell, conveying somewhat of a tinge of sadness. After a special closing prayer the crowd kept their seats while Brother Franz and the five missionaries and the Chinese translator, now due to depart with him, got their luggage out of the adjacent house. Then as they passed the assembly stage to leave the grounds all the audience began to wave good-by. It was hard to leave, but it was good to know that these brothers left behind there at Chih Shang were a solid part of the New World society and are one with us in Jehovah’s worship and service.
Night’s lodging was taken at a Japanese-style hotel in Hualien and on Monday noon we seven flew to Taipei. Here there was time to visit the missionary home, where the new branch office would be established, and then to take a pedicab for an hour’s sightseeing wheeling through Taipei, mostly through the typically native sections of this capital city. The following morning the district servant and the vice-president bade the five friends at the airport good-by and emplaned for Japan. It was cheering news to learn that a little more than a week previous seventy-eight crates containing 16,451 pounds of relief clothing had arrived in the port of Chilung near Taipei, to be distributed to the needy brothers on Taiwan, that they might more comfortably and effectively preach the Kingdom good news. The packing cases, too, would make good material for Kingdom Hall chairs, etc.
OKINAWA
From Taipei, Taiwan, to Okinawa, that historic island of World War II fame, it was just a hop of an hour and forty minutes, flying at an altitude of 9,000 feet, over Taiwan’s northern mountains and out over a virtual sea of clouds and later over some pretty islands as we neared our temporary stopping place on the way to Japan. Our plane came to earth about quarter of twelve noon, Okinawa time. Here at the Naha airport there were about twenty of the Okinawa congregation to refresh the short stopover of the Watch Tower Society’s vice-president and the district servant from the Japanese branch office, which has spiritual supervision over Okinawa. We were hoping that they would be there, and they did not fail our hopes. About an hour was spent with these warmhearted brothers of many nationalities who are giving such a fine witness in that island territory. Most of the Kingdom publishers are native Okinawans, and during the preceding month of December the congregation publishers, numbering twenty, averaged ninety-two magazines each placed in the hands of people encountered in their field work. Recently, also, three Okinawan housewives entered the general pioneer service and are finding great joy in this full-time proclamation of the kingdom of God.
TOKYO AND KYOTO, JAPAN
Shortly before 1 p.m. Brother Franz and district servant Adrian Thompson were again on the wing. About three hours later there was a surge of intensified interest on our part when snowy Mount Fuji or Fujiyama came to view in the far distance against a hazy evening sky. But before our plane gets to a point opposite it we fly over the island of Oshima with its volcano, Mount Mihara, smoking away in the wintry climate. But as the sun quickly descends, Mount Fuji becomes silhouetted against the darkening sky. It is just after 5 p.m. when our plane lands and pulls up in front of the Tokyo international airport, now one of the most up to date in the world. About three hours later the two travelers are aloft again in another plane looking down upon the far-spread night lights of the Japanese capital city and speeding southwestward to Osaka, the business center of the country, with a population of about 3.5 million. Since this city has many rivers and bridges, it is known as the “Venice of Japan.” In a little over an hour and a half of flying we are at the Osaka airport and there the Japanese branch servant and the district servant’s wife are smilingly on hand to greet us. By this late hour of the night the national assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses at Kyoto, fifty miles away to the north, has ended its first day of convention, with an attendance of 386 witnesses and persons of good will. This is a three-day midweek assembly, mind you, from Tuesday through Thursday, January 22-24.
Departure is taken from Osaka in a car about midmorning of Wednesday, January 23. Before leaving the interesting city a visit is made to the Osaka castle, a fine structure that dates back to Japan’s feudal days. This castle was the last stronghold to be captured as Japan’s feudal wars ended, A.D. 1615. Our drive to Kyoto is a roundabout one by way of Japan’s ancient capital to the southeast, Nara, from which the country was ruled until 794. It was here that Buddhism, coming first from Korea, had its beginnings in Japan. So a brief visit is paid to Todai-ji, a temple erected in 752 (A.D.), the so-called Cathedral Temple of all the provincial temples throughout Japan. Inside this huge wooden structure sits Daibutsu (the Great Buddha), a colossal image cast in bronze and weighing nearly 500 tons. Its thumbs are 1.636 meters long and its right hand, taller than a man, is raised in an attitude of blessing, much as the Roman Catholic pope raises his hand in blessing his religious flock. The gateway to this main edifice or Kondo is guarded by fierce-looking warrior-images (nio), representations of the demons. However, this grim-looking temple is surrounded by a beautiful park with many cherry trees, and deer grazed there peacefully and even ate out of the hands of us visitors.
(To be continued)
[Picture on page 505]
Platform at Chih Shang, Taiwan