(To read about the work in TAIWAN begin with TAIWAN 1 and read through to Taiwan 9 blog entry)

Welcome to Taiwan, the Republic of China, and our WELS mission work among the Chinese people. Taiwan, also known as Formosa, is a small island in Northeast Asia, only 240 miles in length from north to south and 85 miles wide at its broadest point. Taiwan is located 90 miles off the coast of southeastern China, with Japan to the north and the Philippines to the south.

The Taiwan population is just over 23 million people. 15000pp/mile in the area of Taichung Taiwan where we live and work. The 2 elementary schools near our home and church have more than 4000 students just in grades 1 through 6. The official language of Taiwan is Mandarin although the Taiwanese dialect, said to be the ‘heart language of the people’ is also used island wide. The Mandarin Chinese language is by far the most spoken language in the world.