TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A multidenominational gathering of worshippers from 22 countries gathered at Taipei’s Yuanshan Grand Hotel on Friday (Sept. 9) to participate in the inaugural Taiwanese version of a staple event in U.S. domestic politics — the National Prayer Breakfast.

U.S. Pastor Jim Liske delivered one of the Breakfast’s three prayers, for the persecuted in Nigeria, Mongolia, and North Korea. He told Taiwan News that in the U.S., the National Prayer Breakfast has developed from a largely Christian event backed by a non-profit into what is now an important “spiritual gathering on the national calendar” for political and economic leaders organized by the U.S. government.

The NGO Liske referred was founded by Abraham Vereide, a first-generation U.S. immigrant and Methodist minister. According to Britannica, Vereide “claimed to have had a vision in which he was instructed by God to redirect his Christian ministry away from the ‘down and out’ and toward the ‘up and out.’”

This resulted in Vereide focusing on ministering to economic and political elites, largely against what he believed to be the subversive forces of socialism, and in favour of a free-market, unregulated economy. Vereide began organizing breakfast groups for prayer, which eventually reached national status, and became the National Prayer Breakfast.

Taiwan’s National Prayer Breakfast has a similar focus, Liske said. “We are praying for the leaders,” he said.

Liske believes that by praying for leaders who make decisions that go against Christian values, God may “soften their hearts,” preventing them from persecuting religious minorities, and in their attempts to “change the world order.” Liske’s work promoting Christianity is non-denominational, in contrast to one of the event’s main backers, the Taiwan Presbyterian Church.

The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has a history of nearly 160 years and remains a significant non-governmental political force in Taiwan. The church has a self-reported membership of just under 260,000 made up of over 1,200 congregations, of which approximately 500 are led by Indigenous Taiwanese.

The Taiwan National Prayer Breakfast in Taipei's Yuanshan Grand Hotel on Friday. (Taiwan News photo)

Reverend Dr. Yang-en Chen (鄭仰恩) described the arc of the Taiwan Presbyterian Church throughout the country’s period of authoritarian rule under the Kuomintang. This included having failed to condemn government during the 228 Incident, through to speaking out against the murders of the family of political activist Lin Yi-hsiung (林義雄), and restoring the church’s role as “a light of the world.”

The Presbyterian Church was a visible and active part of the Prayer Breakfast’s organization, with members of the church dressed in traditional Indigenous sleeveless vests attending to the administrative aspects of the event. Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan Peng Chih-hung (彭志鴻) told Taiwan News the event was important to the church because in the past, when Taiwan had different systems of government and laws were different, it faced great oppression.

Peng said for this reason, the Presbyterian Church is a great supporter of religious freedom, regardless of denomination.

The National Prayer Breakfast was part of the Taiwan International Religious Freedom Summit, which is itself a localized version of a U.S. event that Taiwan Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) attended in January. Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who attended Washington's National Prayer Breakfast in 2020, opened the summit on Thursday.

Following the breakfast the summit continued, and speakers from around the world joined panel discussions on religious persecution in China, India, and parts of Africa. Reverend Bob Fu (傅希秋) of ChinaAid, a religious activist group working with Christians in China and one of the event's organizers, described divine intervention’s role in freeing political prisoners.

Taiwan’s interior minister and minister responsible for religious affairs Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) delivered some of the event’s concluding remarks, and said that religious freedom in Taiwan is a fundamental human right. This fact is enshrined in the country’s constitution, Lin said, meaning there is no way the government can interfere with religious activities or groups.