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Pilgrimage to Holy Mt Zion, Taiwan

MAY 2001

For the benefit of foreigners, road signs in Taiwan are bi-lingual. This de-mystifies the process of getting around to a certain extent. But on one occasion even the English subtitle prompted more than a little intrigue. The sign in question was posted at a turnoff and pointed to “Holy Mt Zion” … which was strange in that this was Tainan county in southern Taiwan and not the land of the Israelites.

Having a pressing engagement meant that we stayed on the straight and narrow, and sped past. But the memory of this “road less traveled” niggled at the back of my mind for several months. Then in the Chinese New Year holiday when my wife and I again made a visit South from Taipei and that strange marker loomed in size and I began to get eaten by the mystique of it all. Eventually the suspense became too much and a family "pilgrimage" was organized. Tai Tai (my wife), Mama (Mother-in-law), Gur Gur (in law), Mei Mei (in law), an aunt, one son in law and myself squeezed into a miniature white Nissan and hit the road.

Like all good pilgrims, we followed the signs and eventually came to Chiahsien. Here we began to climb into the mountains, following a river valley, its wide water course strewn with rocks and flanked by steep hillsides bearing stands of bamboo. Several villages were passed, each populated with a good number of old houses, their classic bell-curve roof profiles rising and falling gracefully.

Arrival at the Holy Mount was unmistakable: a huge boulder the size of a bus, marked the turnoff. Beginning a winding ascent the pilgrim's progress slowed substantially as the ll00cc motor laboured under the weight of the seven occupants. We passed beneath a pearly white gate of angels and were then waved through a checkpoint. Onwards and upwards, the valley started to stretch out below us as we negotiated a succession of switchbacks.

Finally, the road leveled out and we were confronted by, of all things, a multi-level car park. Yellow-vested attendants shepherded us onboard the metal superstructure and guided the car to its resting place. A continuous succession of vehicles followed, thundering over the industrial metal as if boarding a large roll-on roll-off car ferry. Day-trippers were disembarking everywhere and we followed the crowds upstairs and into the light.

The multitudes were headed for a grove of plum trees, resplendent in their white blossoms. Underneath were several staIIs selling packages of bamboo shoots, preserved plum sweets, freshly harvested vegetables, health foods, etc. "It's all organic!" my wife yelled excitedly. "…and made here at Holy Mt Zion."

But there was no time to stop and shop as our attention was promptly caught by the ostrichs! That's right: behind the crowds of admirers lined up two deep along the railing of their enclosure bobbed the beads of these rubber-necked creatures. What were they doing here? The mystery was deepening. Moving along a little, the African flavor of our outing was augmented by a dose of realpolitik: A cul-de-sac of notice boards displayed heavy amounts of Chinese text alongside photos of a former ROC president and a crashed military aircraft. Nearby was what appeared to be an old, semi demolished lookout, fenced off like an historic monument.

Here some of our questions about the origins and nature of this intriguing place were answered. Holy Mt Zion is a Christian religious community founded by the New Testament Church (NTC) in 1978. Led by their prophet, Mr. Elijah Hong, they were acting upon what they believed was a calling from God. The display boards informed us that a "higher power" was at work some 20 years ago, wreaking punishment upon the government of the day for alleged persecution.

This, they say, explained the untimely passing of President Chiang Ching-kuo, and the crash of a surveillance aircraft that came down upon the rocky river-bed below. The ruined lookout was the result of a police raid that occurred in the early days of the community.

Now, however, the dispute with the authorities has cooled to a legal stalemate over who owns the land, and the residents have obviously decided it is best to court public opinion and turn their abode into a tourist destination. The sightseers were being treated to what appeared to be a flourishing community, cultivated with kibbutz-like I zeal by the followers.

We ventured onwards and took a meal at a large eatery. One could not but help notice many teenagers moving about in shirts emblazoned with slogans such as "New Heaven, New Earth", “We're Edenites!", "Happy Children of Eden Homestead" or "God-based Education." One in particular caught my eye: "1-1=I00? …Yes!" What was the meaning of this mad mathematics? A young church follower proffered her opinion: "If you give everything that you have then god will bless you with 100 times more." she explained. And another equation: "1+1=O? Right?" Well. you see, materialism (1+1) is futile - when you leave this earth you cannot take a single thing with you (0).

As I munched on this food for thought, she offered to show us around. We entered a large community building nestled into the hillside. Inside was an enormous commercial kitchen adjoining a communal dining hall with seating for several hundred. It was not unlike the food court in a large shopping mall, except that all the staff were volunteers and the customers were residents who ate there daily and paid by donation. On our way out, I noticed a multimedia kiosk, no doubt another outlet for the teachings of the prophet Elijah. Down to the smallest detail they had succeeded in creating a culture of their own - a self-contained community with schools, industries, agriculture… a whole way of life.

The tour continued: next up the local souvenir shop. Inside were products from other NTC communities around the world including pearls from their very own island in Tahiti The pure white spherical perfection of this jewel holds special significance to church members.

After a little window shopping, we took our leave and headed past an ornamental lake and up hill, our ascent culminating in a ceremonial walkway stepping its way ever upwards. Eventually we came to a large grassy expanse with an attractive low-slung building sitting at its crest. Inside somebody was giving a sermon "Is he the prophet?" we asked "No, he won't be giving public appearance today" we were politely informed. No matter, it was a sunny day and the view was magnificent. Prophet-less, we descended from the mountain and made our way home, not sorry for having taken the road less traveled and the experience it had to offer.

Holy Mt Zion is located about 15km north of Chiahsien on Route 21.