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1

Introduction


      Taiwan is an island off the southeast coast of China, approximately 36,000 sq. km. (13,900 sq. mi.) in area. It was known in the West as Formosa (beautiful), so named by Portuguese mariners four centuries ago.

      The population consists of indigenous islanders of Malay descent, islanders who arrived generations ago from the Chinese mainland, and mainlanders who settled in the late 1940s and early '50s. In 1965 (in the period relevant to this book) the population numbered about 11 million; currently it is over 21 million.

      In 1895, at the end of the Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan, which held it until the end of the Second World War. In 1949 and over the next few years, following internecine struggles on the mainland, nearly two million refugees reached the island. Since then, Taiwan's largest city, Taipei, has been the seat of the government of the Republic of China, which comprises Taiwan and several smaller islands including the Pescadores.

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1

The Beginning


      Taiwan was listed by the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, as being a consolidation goal in the Ten Year Crusade (1953-1963). This goal was given to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States to implement. That assembly was given several consolidation goals in the Orient: among them were Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Macau. Hong Kong was given to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles.

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      Bahá'ís of Shanghai in the early 1930s. Standing left to right: Mr. S.A. Suleimani, Mr. Hossein Touty, Dr. Tsao Yan-siang, Mr. Husayn Ouskouli and his son Qudrat.

      Seated left to right: Mrs. Ridvaniyyih Suleimani (one of Mr. Ouskouli's daughters), Mrs. Elin Tsao, Mr. OuskouIi's mother Sarah, and Mr. Ouskouli's other daughters, Ruhania and Jalalia.

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      In 1954 the first pioneers to Taiwan, Mr. Suleiman A. and Mrs. Ridvaniyyih Suleimani arrived. They were to spend the rest of their lives there.

      The Suleimanis, originally from Iran, had lived for about 28 years in Shanghai where Mrs. Ridvaniyyih Suleimani's father, Mr. Husayn Ouskouli (Uskuli or Uskui), had long resided and conducted a business. In 1935 Mr. Ouskouli visited Taiwan, according to a letter he wrote to Shoghi Effendi from Shanghai. He was on a business trip to buy tea. He took some Bahá'í books in Chinese which he gave to a number of people, although the results are unknown. He was probably the first Bahá'í to set foot on the island.

      Mr. and Mrs. Suleimani left Shanghai permanently in 1950 because of the difficult situation in China for foreigners. But Mr. Ouskouli decided to stay, earning the admiration of the Guardian. A letter to Mr. Ouskouli from the Guardian, written on his behalf by R. Rabbani, dated July 1, 1955, stated:

      "Shoghi Effendi was very, very happy to hear from you after all these years, and to know that you are well, and still in Shanghai.

      "He wants you to know that he admires your wonderful, selfless devotion to the Blessed Beauty, and the way you have remained in Shanghai, the land of your choice, through all the changes the years have brought. He also greatly admires your devoted daughter and son-in-law.

      "He hopes you will keep in good health, and that you will keep with success in your work, and assures you of his prayers.

      (In the Guardian's handwriting) "May the Almighty bless your highly meritorious efforts, guide and sustain you in your historic task, and enable you to enrich the record of your splendid services. Your true brother Shoghi."

      Mr. Ouskouli died in Shanghai in 1956 at the age of eighty-two.

      After leaving China, Mr. and Mrs. Suleimani first went back to Iran and then were able to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Guardian was urging people to attend the Fourth Intercontinental Conference in New Delhi in 1953 and the Suleimanis regarded it as a privilege to be able to attend. It was at that time, Mr. Suleimani wrote, that they were inspired to pioneer to Taiwan, a consolidation goal of the Ten Year Crusade. They arrived by ship in Keelung October 22, 1954.

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      This is thought to be the first Bahá'í pamphlet in the Chinese language. It was prepared and distributed by the Shanghai Bahá'ís in 1917.

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2

Further Beginnings, Including the First Visit
to Taiwan By a Hand of the Cause


      The first American travel teachers to make trips to Taiwan were Dr. David Earl and Lt. Col. John McHenry in 1952, and Mrs. Mildred Mottahedeh with her Iranian-born husband, Rafi, in 1953.

      After the New Delhi Conference in 1953 the Hands of the Cause who attended the conference visited other areas to assist in the development of the Faith. In October of that year Mr. Zikrullah Khádem visited Taiwan, the first Hand of the Cause to do so. Mr. Jerome Chu (Chu Yao-lung) related that he had a meeting for Mr. Khádem at his home. As a result three people declared their belief in Bahá'u'lláh: Professor Tsao Li-shih, who was an instructor of architecture at Taiwan Engineering College; Mr. Hong Li-ming (Jimmy), the first native-born Taiwanese to become a Bahá'í; and Mr. Wong Ho-len (Wong Ho-jen). Mr. Khádem was the first Hand of the Cause to visit Macau during the same trip. He also went to Japan. During the time he was in Taiwan, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Scherer stopped over on their way to pioneer to Macau.

      When Mr. and Mrs. Suleimani arrived in 1954 they found there was already a community of ten Chinese Bahá'ís, residing in various areas: in Taipei (2), Tainan (4), Tao-yuan, Tsoying and Chia-yi. Mr. Suleimani soon met eight of those Bahá'ís. He and his wife decided to settle in the southwestern city of Tainan where they rented a two-room apartment.

      The first believer in Taiwan was Mr. Jerome Chu, a newspaper man, who had become a Bahá'í in Washington D.C. in 1945 after being taught by Mrs. Miriam Haney and Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Barham. Mr. Chu received a letter from the Guardian which ended with a message in his handwriting, "May the beloved bless your efforts, guide your steps, remove all obstacles from your path, and enable you to promote, effectively and under all conditions, the vital interests of His glorious Faith. Your true brother, Shoghi."

      Mr. Chu, in a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Barham in 1953, wrote that the fireside meetings in the Barham' s apartment were the best times in his life. Mr. Chu had known Mr. and Mrs. Suleimani in Shanghai in 1949 and they kept in touch.

      According to Mr. Suleimani, in 1949 the first four Chinese Bahá'ís arrived in Taiwan from the mainland to work as government employees. They were Mr. Chu, Maj. Chien Tien-lee (Maj. Lee L.T. Chang) who became a Bahá'í in the United States, and Mr. Mason Yuan (Yuan Mien-hsien) who became a Bahá'í through Mrs. Haney in 1947. Mr. Yuan told the Suleimanis, "Mother Haney taught me for a whole year every evening." He said that he had never felt such love and kindness. The fourth Bahá'í to arrive from the mainland was Mr. Yuan Hsu-chang,

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      On December 15, 1953 there was an article published in the Chung Hwa Daily News which had a photo of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and some history and principles of the Faith. This is no doubt the first publication about the Faith in a newspaper in Taiwan. The article was written by Mr. Gellan Wang.

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who lived in Nanking and became interested in the Faith through his neighbor, Mr. Chu. Mr. Suleimani had known Maj. and Mrs. Chang (Chien) Lee in Shanghai where they went when they returned to the Orient. Mr. Suleimani wrote that Mr. and Mrs. Chang had a Bahá'í marriage ceremony in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.

      There was another believer in Tainan, Mr. Gellan Wang (Wang Tzu-nan), who had become a Bahá'í in the United States in 1947. He worked in the Foreign Office in Taipei.

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      Hand of the Cause Mr. Khádem on his first trip to Taiwan, November 17, 1953, with Lt. Col. Yuan Mien-hsien (Mason) and Mrs. Loretta Scherer. The Scherers stopped at Taiwan on their way to their pioneer post of Macau. Lt. Col. Yuan had become a Bahá'í in the United States in 1947.
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      The early Bahá'ís, including the three who came into the Faith through Mr. Khádem in 1953, were quite staunch and their names can be found in reports of activities in the early years.

      Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Barham, described by Miss Agnes Alexander as being teachers of Mr. Chu and Mr. Wang, received a letter written on behalf of the Shoghi Effendi by R. Rabbani. It was dated July 28, 1954 and was sent to the Barham's home in Washington, D.C.

      "Your welcome letter of June 21st with enclosures was received, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

      "He was delighted to learn of the excellent work Mr. Chu and Mr. Wang are

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Naw-Rúz Party at Tainan, 1955

      Seated: Mr. Ho Cheng-tzu, Mr. Wong Ho-len, Mrs. Ruthy Tu, Mr. Jerome Chu, Mrs. Suleimani, Mr. Gellan Wang, Mr. Tsao Li-shih. Standing: Mr. Wang Chi-chang, Mr. Pai Chung-cheng, Mr. Tai Tung-ko, Mr. S.A. Suleimani, Mr. Liu H.Y. Mr. Luk Yun-shen (Winston), Mr. Cheng Chen-chang, Mr. Hsiao Tsan-chang (Johnson).

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doing. Will you please convey to them his loving greetings and the assurance of his prayers for the success of their work?

      "When we realize what promise Formosa holds for the future, and that only a few years ago the Cause was unknown there, we can truly say miracles happen before our very eyes!

      "The Guardian hopes you will be able to go to Formosa and help establish the projected assemblies there, and he urges you to keep in close touch with these two dear Bahá'ís. He is placing the newspaper article you forwarded in the Mansion Library at Bahji."

      The Suleimanis started a study class as the Chinese felt they were not familiar with some aspects of the Faith. Several months later, on the evening of Naw-Rúz 1955, four people declared their Faith: Mr. Ho Cheng-tzu of Chia-yi, who several years later was to become the designer of the Tainan Bahá'í Center; Mr. Cheng Chen-chang of Taipei, who was in newspaper work; Mr. Pai Chung-cheng of Tainan; and Mr. Hsiao Tsan-chang (Johnson) of Chia-yi. Mr. Suleimani wrote that this was the most precious Naw-Rúz present bestowed on the island. This group was also quite active through the years.

      In May 1955 Mr. Suleimani wrote that Capt. Shih Hung-mok, of Kangshan, declared his belief at Ridván. He was an active promoter of the Faith and helped with the printing.

      At that time there were eighteen Bahá'ís in six localities, and it soon climbed to twenty-one believers.

      In 1955 Mrs. Suleimani wrote a letter to Rúhiyyih Khánum and received a warm answer, quoted here in part, "Your most welcome letter of April 6 was received as well as the photographs you sent and I can assure you and your dear husband that the news you give of the progress of our Faith in Formosa has brought much joy to the heart of our beloved Guardian. I wish all the news he gets could make him as happy! ... it is only the good news — such as you send him — which lifts up his heart and enables him to carry on with his heavy tasks."

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