A fairly momentous day.  Wednesday April 3, 2024 was the day of Taiwan’s massive 7.2 earthquake.  And yes, it was also my birthday!

The day started off pretty normally, as birthdays on a Wednesday might do, and by 7:30 am I was just back home from an hour in the swimming pool.  Actually, everyone in Taiwan was busy planning their upcoming long weekend – the following 2 days, April 4 and 5 were to be days off for the annual Tomb-Sweeping Festival – so I was busy planning too. The weather reports for the holiday weekend were not too good, but hey there are always mountains to climb, and this weekend too, there’s visitors to welcome – in fact over 100 coming to Taiwan for next week’s World Anglican Chinese Clergy Conference (April 9-12), hosted by the Diocese of Taiwan. I was also busy planning my birthday celebration for that morning in the kindergarten. In my English classes with the children, we’ve been learning about families, so I had a plan to ask each child how many people were in their family, and when they told me who they were, ‘mother – father – sister – brother – me’ kind of thing, then I would give them a chocolate for each adult and a jelly for each child. That’ll be fun, I thought!   

At 7:58 am, while I was still at home on the 4^th (UK numbering is 3^rd) floor – high buildings are definitely way scarier in an earthquake – at St. John’s Cathedral, Taipei, suddenly the world started shaking.  Earthquake big time. It went on and on, and as the room and furniture rocked and rolled, so all things that could move did so – drawers opened, water bottles, pictures, ornaments crashed down.  Bang, bang, crash, crash.  When the shaking stopped, we had a few moments of calm before the aftershocks began, and it soon became obvious that there wasn’t much point in picking everything up and putting it back on the shelves only for it to fall over again. Outside there was a loud noise of rushing water.  From the window, we could see across the road to the top of an 8-story building, where the water tank had burst and water was gushing from the tank down the side of the building like a major waterfall, landing on the cars parked below.  People came out of their buildings to see what was happening.  Rev. Joseph Ho emerged from his apartment on the same 4^th floor – his wife and children had already left for school – and we set off to check for any damage. In our 4th-floor kitchen, items had fallen off shelves, fortunately none were broken.  On the stairs leading up to the 5^th floor, a large standing glass mirror had crashed to the ground and was smashed into a million small pieces.    In the cathedral itself, all was calm, only a cross had fallen to the ground – the one carried at the front of the procession into church on a Sunday.

By 8:45 am I arrived in the kindergarten, on the same cathedral site, ready for my class at 9:00 am.   There was huge excitement and noise as all the children rushed over to tell me about the earthquake.  Some had already arrived in the classroom before the earthquake – they hid under the tables.  Every child in Taiwan knows what to do in an earthquake, it’s just part of life.  Other children had been getting dressed or on their way to school when the earthquake struck, and some came in crying recounting their experiences of the earthquake.  All had a story to tell and were keen to tell it. 

Our new English words for the day were, yes, you’ve guessed it, ‘earthquake’ and ‘scared’.  Our story for the week was The Three Little Pigs, which somehow seemed most appropriate, as the wolf tried to blow over the 3 houses of straw, sticks and bricks, and ended up climbing down the chimney and falling into a pot of stew much to the relief and delight of the 3 little pigs.  And then I surprised the children with news of my birthday and distribution of all the chocolates and jellies. That’s certainly one way to change the mood of a class of children, tell them it’s your birthday and give out sweets for them to take home for their families – so they became even more excited, but this time in a good way!  Then the teachers and principal, accompanied by our cathedral dean Philip Lin and Joseph arrived with a cake and everyone sang Happy Birthday (photos taken from the kindergarten Facebook page). It was quite some celebration!  

Ah, such is life in Taiwan: a massive earthquake at 7:58 am followed an hour later by a birthday party – definitely a day to remember!

The Taipei Metro was suspended for several hours while checks were made, so the early morning rush hour came to a standstill underground, while everyone clamoured into buses and taxis overground to try to get to work. Internet, Wi-Fi services and telephone signals were very disrupted.  At lunchtime, Joseph’s wife and children returned with a birthday cake, talking about how they couldn’t find the cake shop as Google Maps wasn’t working, while the children were excitedly talking about how they were on a bus at the time of the earthquake and how it rocked and swayed and then stopped at the side of the road.  Still, undaunted, we sang and ate a very delicious cake! 

The afternoon passed with visitors and yummy meals – interspersed with aftershocks – and in-between all this were phone calls with the Bishop of Taiwan, Lennon Yuan-Rung Chang in response to a lot of enquiries from overseas as to whether we were safe. I had hundreds, yes, hundreds of messages coming in on my phone, especially once the UK woke up (7 hours time difference, so in Taiwan time that’s early afternoon), messages of concern about the earthquake combined with birthday wishes.  Thank you all, I really appreciated each one!  There were so many I couldn’t even start to answer them until the next day, other than the barest, ‘Yes we’re fine’ kind of message. Sorry if you were one of them waiting for me to answer! 

Only the day before, I had been at the diocesan office at a lunch celebrating March and April birthdays, including Bishop Chang’s own birthday, his was on April 2.  We’re only one day apart!  Anyway, we waited for reports from Rev. Antony Liang, vicar of St. Luke’s Church, Hualien, near the epicenter of the quake, who fortunately was reporting only minor damage to the church building, but with power and water cuts and big aftershocks, so most people had relocated outside.  By the evening, he had contacted all his church members, and all were safe, though some had damaged homes.  Here at the cathedral, our usual Wednesday-night Student Bible Study was cancelled, not because of the earthquake and not because of my birthday, but because of the Tomb-Sweeping Festival – with students traveling home for the weekend – so instead of a Bible Study, we put together a diocesan letter for distribution to friends overseas.  Yes, life goes on, and getting back to normal is part of the healing process, so even though ‘earthquake’ was the word on everyone’s lips and in everyone’s minds, still we carried on at work and school throughout the day. It really was quite some birthday!

The diocesan letter from Bishop Chang said, “Thank you so much for your concern for us in Taiwan following the large 7.2 earthquake at 7:58 am this morning, which has since been followed by many aftershocks.  The most recent news reports say that 9 people have been killed, over 800 injured, and 28 large buildings tilted or partially collapsed. Most of these are in the Hualien area on the east coast of Taiwan.  All of Taiwan was shaken, and for those who were trying to get to work on the Taipei Metro or High-Speed Rail, there were major delays and inconveniences. Hualien announced work and school closures for the day, while in the rest of Taiwan, work and school went ahead as normal. Fortunately, Taiwan’s government and emergency services are very experienced in earthquake rescue and relief, and responded quickly, and we know that they are doing their best to help and support those affected.  All schools, work and offices throughout Taiwan (including our diocesan office) are now closed until Monday due to Children’s Day and the Tomb-Sweeping Festival, held every year on April 4 and 5, during which time people visit their family tombs to pay their respects.  This will also give everyone a chance to clear up after the earthquake.  Although many homes and buildings have suffered minor damage, please know that there is no widespread devastation, and any support needed by those affected is being handled well by government and support agencies. Our church in Hualien, St. Luke’s Church, received minor damage only.  The vicar, Rev. Antony F. W. Liang has spent the day checking in with all his church members and reports that all of them are fine.  We are all grateful to God for His mercy and grace, and we thank you all for your prayers.” 

Earthquakes are nothing new in Taiwan, and Hualien has had way more than most other areas.  Currently, although the main train line from Taipei to Hualien is now open again, many of the road tunnels through Taiwan’s eastern mountains are blocked, and travel there is very difficult, if not impossible.  Taroko Gorge, Hualien’s most famous and most beautiful scenic tourist attraction, is cut off by rockfalls and landslides blocking all roads into the gorge, and hotels located up there are filled with hundreds of stranded tourists.  Relief, repair and reconstruction will continue for many months to come, though breaking news this morning is that a road has been opened up at the far end of Taroko Gorge so that people stranded there can be evacuated out over the top via the Central Cross-Island Highway – that is amazingly quick work! News reports also show that demolition of some of those tilting buildings in Hualien has already started, with residents having been given 15 minutes to get in and collect their possessions.  15 minutes!  Taiwan people are very resilient, and fortunately, the government response has been excellent so far.  In past earthquakes, it has been a bit chaotic, now it seems that everything is much more organized with the different government agencies working together. Christian relief organizations are also there, in action; people from many churches are involved in helping and supporting those affected by the earthquake, and we hope churches will provide long-term care and support for those who need it. 

What is rather amazing is that more people were not killed.  This morning (Saturday), the number of those killed stands at 12, with 1,133 injured, 636 ‘trapped’ (mostly stranded up in the Taroko Gorge hotels and village) and eight missing.  Considering what could have happened, the numbers are really very low.  Only one of those killed was in a building collapse – and that was because the person returned home to rescue their cat.  The other people killed and those still missing are all hikers or roadcrew workers in Taroko Gorge. There is no good time ever to have an earthquake, but just think how many people could have been killed had that initial earthquake happened at night, when all those 28 now-tilting or collapsed buildings would have been filled with sleeping people.  Previous big earthquakes have happened at night, and buildings have collapsed, resulting in hundreds of casualties.  At 7:58 am on Wednesday, children were nearly all already in school, possibly the safest place for them, while adults were mostly on their way to work, so they were already out of their homes but possibly not yet in their offices.  In Hualien hotels – and in the Taroko Gorge hotel itself – most tourists would have been still having breakfast, and coaches scheduled to take them out that day would be parked up at the hotel entrance ready to set off once breakfast was over. Had the earthquake happened the following day, the number of people in Taroko Gorge could have been vastly greater, with everyone taking advantage of the 4-day weekend to have a spring vacation.  The possibilities of what might have happened are mind-blowing.  Suffice it to say, we feel humbled and grateful to God for his mercy and grace. 

At the end of our diocesan letter, we wrote, “We particularly ask you to pray for the Taiwan Episcopal Church as we prepare to host the World Anglican Chinese Clergy Fellowship (WACCF) 4-yearly gathering next week in Taipei, from April 9-12.  The conference will go ahead as planned.  We are welcoming over 110 participants arriving over the next few days from S. E. Asia, Hong Kong, Myanmar, USA, Canada and Australia. Together with our Taiwan clergy and spouses, we expect a total of about 140-150 people. Participants are all Anglican Chinese clergy and their spouses, and the conference will be conducted entirely in Mandarin Chinese. Please do pray for them all, especially those who may be worried about coming to Taiwan. We hope and pray that their time here is a blessing for each one.” 

We still have many aftershocks (over 500 so far) and the government is advising everyone to stay away from mountain areas in northern Taiwan, so the Yangmingshan Mountains above Taipei will be quiet this weekend.  The weather is damp so that will help deter people.  However, down in south central Taiwan, it’s a different matter.  Not deterred by the earthquake news, 3 Malaysian clergy attending WACCF came early to Taiwan and have been, as originally planned, climbing Yushan, Taiwan’s highest mountain, which is away from the earthquake area and seems relatively unscathed.  They sent photos of themselves on the summit early yesterday morning. Archbishop Ng Moon Hing, retired Archbishop of SE Asia & Bishop of West Malaysia, arrived with his wife, Siew Lan yesterday, also a few days early.  We had a nice welcome dinner for them last night.  The previous WACCF gathering was due to be held in Taiwan in 2020 but was cancelled due to the pandemic, so they’ve been looking forward to their Taiwan visit since 2020!  More of the WACCF visitors are coming in the next few days and we are on hand to welcome them all!

This time last week we were preparing to celebrate Easter, but now Easter seems a very long time ago, so much has happened since then.  We continue to share the message and meaning of Easter this weekend in our churches, that Christ is risen, death has been conquered, and He is with us through thick and thin. Thank you all for your concern, prayers and of course birthday wishes, all much appreciated.  Yesterday, Bishop Chang and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry talked by video call; Archdeacon Keith Lee and Rev. Anthony Liang also joined the call and gave an update about the current situation in Hualien, after which Presiding Bishop Michael prayed for Taiwan, our bishop, clergy and church members and for all those affected by the earthquake.  News of this video call and the support and prayers of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has been a big encouragement to our people here. Prayers are so important – so thank you to everyone for yours!