INSIGHT: Elections in Taiwan and elsewhere

Taiwan’s general elections will be held on 16 January to elect the 14th president and vice president and all 113 seats of the 9th Legislative Yuan. These elections are said to be the most important in the democracy in nearly 20 years because: 1. Taiwan is poised to elect its first female president, as both of the two major parties have nominated female presidential candidates. 2. Taiwan’s long-time ruling party, the KMT, is expected to lose the presidency and possibly the legislature. Taiwan operates a semi-presidential system, with a directly elected president but also a premier similar to parliamentary systems. 3. Taiwanese identity is growing despite (or because of) increased ties with China. Taiwan’s polls have frequently asked whether people identify as Chinese; over the years Chinese identification has fallen from 25.5 percent to 3.3 percent. This shift benefits the opposition party, the DPP, who have traditionally promoted a distinct Taiwanese identity. For information regarding other nation-changing elections in the coming year http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001VZ93mvF0RuwWsyWqEZpcL2rV0o70c km_1PlhWWFZ-jHOddKKX9LsUc3zzUa34MfD9fySN06QgT9HSnMATMusmCWRo QyB1KDGh8HGD5HT25iF727Q9mRYgoAwEiSNq9VKItg75IgXsuZ2tedZnYcXD fWZfvvn3WbWP1Lys3BGVQLKLmxTnRMFWD6KmQBZGgSXL8_0jccxLSIwP2u2t tV-mklrJKePEk7KtprFZ0fMgbAE5Fy2aWWJMviailBIcOWs-eKhG7kM8mBFO EvtLhoCcQsWKioHwSR-_9VDzXlnBOs3SrSxXv3TgMLC4ksg38NUJQmYj7ikd CNiorjFIOh0v8v5M4ZNOFazlUM_T9Sriyh8gD8D-tog6w==&c=dK1NvM 6URZi8yP_Q40hMiyFyJ-CIjDNwDHJVgR3mnOaEP6qjXCMFSA==&ch=JQ l_VxoUaOASLfn8-L6GZ2Mmz4llnq1IUunGwn58Too-mXkinucHSA==" alt="http://www.prayer-alert.net/index.php?option=com_d ocman&view=download&alias=616-insight-elections -jan-june-2016&category_slug=insight-articles-1&Item id=216 - see here

Pray:

that this shift of identity for independence will not mean conflict with China. (Pr. 21:1)

Worldwide weather

In Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Bolivia more than 160,000 people were displaced over the last few days of December by the heaviest floods to hit South America in 50 years. The year 2015 was the warmest on record globally. In the media, a lot of attention has been given to the many floods, droughts, wildfires and heatwaves that have battered countries this year. Little attention is given to the Arctic - where global warming is felt most strongly. Temperatures at the North Pole rose to above freezing point at the end of 2015; that’s more than 30 degrees higher than average. Last month 150 world leaders met at the COP21 climate summit and shook hands on the Paris Agreement. We can continue to pray through this year that countries will implement comprehensive and effective remedies to climate change. See also article 1 in the British Isles section, and http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001VZ93mvF0RuwWsyWqEZpcL2rV0o70c km_1PlhWWFZ-jHOddKKX9LsUc3zzUa34MfDR8u68jw1iPaDBEbzJr3pIhWTm QEWsiUcioBPzVFZGPdL0R9Ena40B0ESY9xjLDsyw0N93-0-YQaFpLMGYvi&# 111;ndxP5X3KIASWMoCHCd6Juaiwdw8RenkOds6pggnxHJSh&c=dK1Nv M6URZi8yP_Q40hMiyFyJ-CIjDNwDHJVgR3mnOaEP6qjXCMFSA==&ch=J Ql_VxoUaOASLfn8-L6GZ2Mmz4llnq1IUunGwn58Too-mXkinucHSA==" alt="http://arctic-news.blogspot.co.uk/ - see also .

Pray:

for us to hear God’s call for us to prioritise our stewardship to the earth and all its creatures. (Gen.1:27a,28)

Yemen: Fighting causing a humanitarian disaster

Homes are without power, food supplies cannot enter the area, and medical facilities have been bombed or closed. Since November heavy fighting in the central Yemeni city of Taiz has forced more than 30 hospitals and medical facilities to close. Doctors face an acute shortage of supplies, and the humanitarian situation worsens daily. The UN World Food Programme appealed to all parties in the conflict to allow food in for hundreds of thousands of hungry people under siege and deprived of supplies for many weeks. 22 governorates are experiencing food insecurity at ‘emergency’ level (one step below famine on the five-point Integrated Food Security Phase Classification scale), in a country where factional fighting in 2015 killed or wounded thousands of people and displaced 2.5 million others. Pray for the 7.6 million Yemenis who do not have enough food to lead a healthy life, have lost livelihoods, and face acute life-threatening malnutrition. http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001VZ93mvF0RuwWsyWqEZpcL2rV0o70c km_1PlhWWFZ-jHOddKKX9LsUc3zzUa34MfD3dlMfQp0vuio07rvsxst90T84 mjHmqUBrHvi3p2vO7-lgGpRN5giKocZRF6w_JDr3zUBmXrxPJBSaHp9jsWk_ IwjP-IJhiOvQPf2l70MPhy698y_aAp1fKYaOEp6quPhTt48w0jJHHvc2Jqa3 alEDg==&c=dK1NvM6URZi8yP_Q40hMiyFyJ-CIjDNwDHJVgR3mnOaEP6 qjXCMFSA==&ch=JQl_VxoUaOASLfn8-L6GZ2Mmz4llnq1IUunGwn58To o-mXkinucHSA==" alt="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35236572 - See also

Pray:

for those living under war conditions, pray for the residents of a care centre for the blind that was bombed and destroyed on Wednesday and for those attempting to bring relief.(Ps.10:1, 12)

Middle East: Iraq to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran?

Iraq dispatched its foreign minister to Tehran on Wednesday with an offer to mediate in an escalating feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran after Sunni Saudi Arabia executed Shi'ite Nimr al-Nimr because he complained that Shi'ites were marginalised and called for the overthrow of the Saudi royal family. Nimr’s execution infuriated Iran, the region's main Shi'ite Muslim power and inflamed sectarian anger to rise higher across the Middle East. Demonstrators sacked the Saudi embassy in Iran, and Shi’ite countries cut off diplomatic ties with Iran. Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite-led Iran have been fighting proxy wars in the region for generations. The Saudis have led a coalition of Shi'ite Houthi rebels in Yemen, resulting in devastation and starvation (see above). Shi'ite Iran backs Syria's President Assad against the Sunni rebels in that country's five-year civil war. Saudi Arabia is number 12, and Iran number 7 on the World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians.

Pray:

for diplomacy to overcome the volatile tempers of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Ayatollah Al Khamenei and Saudi's King Salaman bin Abdulaziz and their advisors. (Jas. 3:18).

Nigeria: Boko Haram kill 80+ but President says ‘war against terror won’

Boko Haram slaughtered more than eighty people in a series of attacks the week after President Buhari suggested his army had ‘technically won the war.’ The Global Terror Report 2015 places Nigeria third on their list of 124 countries, and says that Boko Haram are ‘deadlier than IS, having killed more people’. Buhari had previously vowed to drive out the terror group from the country by December. He now suggests they have ‘technically’ been defeated as they revert to using improvised explosive devices and indoctrinating children. Meanwhile a refugee camp with 2,500 temporary homes for refugees fleeing Boko Haram now hosts close to one million. 2.5 million people have been internally displaced due to Boko Haram's various attacks. Reports suggest that women have been forced to carry out suicide bombings for the terrorists, who have become notorious for kidnapping thousands of women and girls from towns and villages.

Pray:

for God to comfort the victims of violence and terrorism and help them to overcome fear. (Jn.16:33)

South Africa: human trafficking

Nomasonto Khoza, the mother of a one-year-old toddler, and her two accomplices appeared at the Nelspruit magistrates’ court on Thursday, charged with human trafficking. The 25-year-old mother sold the child for R5,000 in Springs to 45-year-old Thobile Ndhlovu. The accused remain in custody until bail is paid. The case has been postponed to 17 February. Human trafficking affects countless victims around the world. The methodologies used to arrive at estimates about its nature and extent have been criticised as flawed or lacking in scientific rigour. In South Africa, claims by anti-trafficking campaigners and NGOs report that 30,000 children are trafficked into the country annually as part of the sex trade. The same figure has been used by the Department of Home Affairs to justify visa regulations aimed at combating child trafficking. The number of cases being reported suggests it is on the increase in South Africa. http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001VZ93mvF0RuwWsyWqEZpcL2rV0o70c km_1PlhWWFZ-jHOddKKX9LsUc3zzUa34MfDaYYf94h__8VQruSjKd7vPbYau 5oMfv0dFT8HQ8rr8dVMr4yM_05fHP7QABdH1iEMI8bGPtHIbOT3G4A_WkZ0r U93c_5AN9h0fvqQjCFkDgt8OpcyGzCWHIZ8aiskz4J7u7VKSDrBkzIkNolHX ioz3QjKHAdTW8KK5tRurSftiNvT4825Hw8pETzSIDqe6TYi7pLsm8stAimsO OM2mr-2iQ==&c=dK1NvM6URZi8yP_Q40hMiyFyJ-CIjDNwDHJVgR3mnO aEP6qjXCMFSA==&ch=JQl_VxoUaOASLfn8-L6GZ2Mmz4llnq1IUunGwn 58Too-mXkinucHSA==" alt="http://theconversation.com/human-trafficking- in-south-africa-an-elusive-statistical-nightmare-43949 - See also

Pray:

for a day when people will not be treated as a commodity (Ps.82:3)

Australia: palliative care

The Victorian government has conducted a public consultation to improve palliative care service and work towards the development of an end-of-life care framework. The Australian Christian Lobby was able to contribute to the discussion by making a submission that highlighted the importance of ensuring that good health practice is carried out in palliative care. People requiring medical treatment and care who are approaching the end of their life are often some of the most vulnerable members of society, and need to be treated in a way that is consistent with the dignity of their humanity. This means that public health policy must always reject any health care solutions that intentionally seek to end a patient’s life, even when desired by the patient.

Pray:

for the government as they consider and debate this issue. (Ps. 121:1,2)