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Ever since the first encounter between Christianity and China in the 7th century, there have been different views about the possibility of positive interaction between this "Western religion" and the specific culture of the "Middle Kingdom". Four times in the course of history, Christianity has tried to gain ground in China so as to establish itself institutionally in the forms of different Christian churches (Nestorian: jingjiao, Catholic: tianzhujiao, Protestant: jidujiao) and communities (religious orders, denominations). Each time, however, these efforts suff…

[German Version] (Chinese Aomen, Port. Macau) was founded around 1557 as the “City of the Holy Name of God” at the end of the Pearl River estuary (Canton Bay) and was a territory under Portuguese administration until 1999. Until the founding of Hong Kong in 1842, Macau was a center of East Asian trade, a gate to China, as well as a place of cross-cultural dialogue and of Sino-Lusitanian relations (“Rome of the Far East”). The city consists of the Macau Peninsula and of the islands of Taipa and Coloane, covers an area of 23.5 km2 with a population of about 520,000 (of which 95% are Chinese…

[German Version] (also Frédéric-Vincent, Chinese name Lei Mingyuan; Aug 17, 1877, Ghent , Belgium – Jun 24, 1940, Chongqing, China) was one of the most prominent China missionaries of the 20th century. He was ordained priest in Peking in 1901. In 1923, he created the Unio Catholica Iuventutis Sinensis in Paris, and in 1927 the Société des Auxiliaires des Missions ¶ (SAM) in Belgium. Lebbe fought against Europeism and introduced a modern (so-called “Tianjin”) mission strategy. He founded the Chinese-language daily newspaper Yishibao (Social Welfare) in 1915. In 1928, he founde…

Overview The Republic of China (ROC) on the Island of Taiwan (formerly Formosa), once the stronghold of the Kuomintang (KMT, or Nationalist Party), has evolved into a democracy with an elected president, national and local legislatures, and elected national, provincial, county, city, and town officials. Since 2000 the head of state has been Chen Shui-bian, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party. Administratively, Taiwan is divided into 18 counties, five municipalities (Chiayi, Hsinchu, Keelung, Taichung, and Tainan), and two “special municipalities” …