wfn.org | Taiwan Hospital asks for Prayers Regarding Armed Attacker Patients

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Taiwan Church News 2787 25-31 July 2005

Reported by Gu Hao-jan. Written by David Alexander

"God hopes to see sinners saved"¨ Chaplain Weng Reui-shiang of Chia-yi
Christian Hospital (CYCH) called the nation's churches to prayer over the
presence of Chang Hsi-ming and his bodyguard, Lin Tai-heng, notoriously
violent criminals, who were transferred to the hospital on the afternoon of
July 21st for therapy. Chaplain Weng hopes that the two will open their
hearts to faith in God while under the hospital's care.

The pair was captured after a gun battle with police on July 14th
.  Seriously wounded, they were first placed in a hospital in Taichung for
stabilization. After a week there, a heavily guarded convoy transported
them to Chia-yi where they were checked in to the CYCH. Long before their
arrival medical and administrative staff members were convening to make
plans and to pray.

Mr. Weng says that CYCH has treated dangerous criminals in the past.
"Though there seems to be no serious crime that Chang Hsi-ming has not
committed, yet in the eyes of God all of us are sinners."  Weng carries no
doubt regarding the degree of Chang's infamy. The hospital's administrative
and medical staffs are under a lot of pressure regarding the situation.

Police presence is heavy. Access to Chang¡¦s room is restricted. Weng
himself has not yet been given an opportunity to see Chang. "But,"  he
says, "members of the chaplaincy staff have been in there. They report that
Chang's emotional state is problematic and they asked the rest of us to
pray for him."

When asked what the hospital might do regarding Chang¡¦s spiritual
condition, Weng replied, "We sing, we send in gospel tracts, but he is
self-contained. It¡¦s not easy because our time is limited, so we can only
do what we can." Mr. Weng said, "Chang is manacled hand and foot. We
currently can only prepare audio and video tapes for him to enjoy while he
is in bed."

Mr. Weng, a probationary pastor in one of Taiwan's several Lutheran
denominations, is a recent graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in
Hsin-chu City.

For more information: Chia Yi Christian Hospital www.cych.org.tw

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.

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Chang Hsi-ming	and Chang's bodyguard, Lin Tai-heng