Appendix 1: Key Historical Events in Taiwan

Appendix 1: Key Historical Events in Taiwan

Year	Key Church Events in Taiwan
1853	Four missionaries arrive in Hong Kong and stay for fifty-six days. Missionary effort is discontinued due to Taiping Rebellion.
1921	9 January. Elder David O. McKay dedicates Chinese realm for the preaching of the gospel while in Beijing, China.
1955	17 August. Southern Far East Mission is created with headquarters in Hong Kong and H. Grant Heaton as mission president.
1956	4 June. Four missionaries from the Southern Far East Mission arrive in Taiwan from Hong Kong to preach the gospel (Duane W. Dean, Keith A. Madsen, Weldon J. Kitchen, and Melvin C. Fish). The Taipei Branch is organized with Stanley Simiskey as the first branch president. 26 September. Chin Mu Tsung (Richard) is the first Chinese convert baptized by an LDS serviceman in Taiwan. October. The Relief Society is organized in Taiwan. Elder Melvin Fish serves as the first Relief Society president until he can find and train a replacement.
1957	27 April. Chiu Hung Hsiung (Richard) and Tseng I-Chang are the first Chinese converts baptized in Taiwan by the missionaries.
1958	May. Chen Lin Shu-Liang becomes the first Chinese Relief Society president in the Taipei Branch. November. Taiwan is divided into two districts: the North and South Taiwan districts.
1959	1 June. Elder Mark E. Petersen (1900–1984) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicates Taiwan for the preaching of the gospel. 28 June. Liang Jun-sheng becomes the first Chinese branch president in the Taipei Branch.
1960	18–20 May. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presides over a regional conference (Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taipei).
	18 July. Elder Howard W. Hunter, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
	16 November. Elder Ezra Taft Benson, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
1961	21 April. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley visits Taiwan for the purpose of locating land for the Church.
	15 November. Church purchases land on Chin Hua Street in Taipei from the government (previously farm land for the Taipei prison).
1962	12 February. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan to discuss the translation of the Book of Mormon.
	23 November. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley visits Taiwan and travels to Kaohsiung.
1963	31 July. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley visits Taiwan to call Larry Browning to “supervise” the translation of the Chinese Book of Mormon.
	2 November. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley presides over the groundbreaking ceremony for the first meetinghouse in Taiwan at Chin Hua Street in Taipei.
	5 November. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley calls Hu Wei-I to “translate the whole Book [of Mormon]” while in Taiwan.
1964	19 April. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley presides over a regional conference.
	17 November. North, Central, and South districts are organized in Taiwan with Liang Jun-sheng, Ung Min-Tsan, and He Shuen-Ding serving as district presidents.
1965	18 October. Elder Marion D. Hanks, from the First Council of the Seventy, visits Taiwan.
	December. First Chinese edition of the Book of Mormon is published, translated by Hu Wei-I.
1966	16 October. First meetinghouse is dedicated at Chin Hua Street in Taipei by Elder Gordon B. Hinckley. Meetinghouses in Kaohsiung and Taichung followed in 1967 and 1972, respectively.
1967	18 April. President Hugh B. Brown, first counselor in the First Presidency, visits Taiwan.
	3 December. Elder Marion D. Hanks visits Taiwan.
1968	19 May. Elder Marion D. Hanks, an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
	13 November. Elder Ezra Taft Benson visits Taiwan for a regional conference.
1969	1 November. Hong Kong–Taiwan Mission is created with headquarters in Hong Kong with W. Brent Hardy as the mission president.
	6 November. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
1970	8 September. Elder Bruce R. McConkie visits Taiwan.
1971	11 January. Taiwan Mission is created in Taipei with Malan R. Jackson as mission president.
	14 April. President Harold B. Lee, first counselor in the First Presidency, and Elder Adney Y. Komatsu visit Taiwan.
	22 September. President N. Eldon Tanner, second counselor in the First Presidency, visits Taiwan.
	6 November. Elder Marvin J. Ashton, Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
1972	Taiwan Service Center (and distribution center) is established.
	W. Brent Hardy and Edward Y. Okazaki are called as new regional representative and mission representative, respectively.
	Members of the Asia Educational Resources Project (AERP), organized by Neal A. Maxwell (then commissioner of Church Educational System), visit Taiwan.
	Health missionary program begins in Taiwan (renamed welfare service missionaries in 1975).
1973	September. Church Educational System (CES) programs officially begin with Alan Hassell as CES coordinator; the office is in the Chin Hua Street chapel.
	12 November. Eldred G. Smith, Patriarch to the Church, visits Taiwan.
1974	20 January. Thomas P. Nielson replaces Malan R. Jackson as mission president for the Taiwan Mission and later produces a series of filmstrips focused on families, genealogy, and temple work for ancestors.
	20 June. Taiwan Mission is renamed the Taiwan Taipei Mission.
	4 July. Elder A. Theodore Tuttle of the First Council of the Seventy visits Taiwan.
	Wan Kan-Leung (Joseph) is hired and replaces Alan Hassell as the CES coordinator in Taipei.
	CES Kaohsiung office is opened when Lee Ding Kuen is hired.
1975	11 March. Elder Howard W. Hunter visits Taiwan.
	13 August. President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985), President of the Church, presides over the first area conference in Taiwan, with about 2,500 people in attendance. He also visits with Yen Chia-kan, president of the People’s Republic of China.
	2 November. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley visits Taiwan.
	First Chinese edition of the Doctrine and Covenants is published.
	Church membership is over 8,000 members in thirty branches in three member districts and one American servicemen district.
1976	22 April. First stake in Taiwan is organized by Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, with Chang I-Ching as the first Chinese stake president. The stake included six wards and five branches with 4,497 members. (The Taipei Stake was renamed the Taipei Taiwan West Stake in 1982.)
	1 July. Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission is created, with P. Boyd Hales as mission president (3,600 members in the Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission and 4,600 in the Taiwan Taipei Mission).
	First Chinese edition of the Pearl of Great Price is published.
1978	11 May. President Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve, visits Taiwan.
	Wang Lu Pao is hired to assist and later supervise CES programs in Taipei.
1979	1 July. Taiwan Taichung Mission is created, with Frederick W. Crook as mission president.
	December. Finance, Translation, and Distribution Departments are established.
	Wan Kon-Leung (Joseph) is transferred to supervise CES programs in Hong Kong.
	CES Kaohsiung office is closed when Lee Ding Kuen moves to the United States.
1980	22 October. President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) returns to preside over another Taiwan area conference. He also visits with Taiwan president Chiang Ching-kuo and Prime Minister Sun Yun-suan. Church membership reaches ten thousand members.
1981	6 November. Kaohsiung Taiwan Stake is organized with Ho Tung-Hai as stake president (renamed the Kaohsiung West Stake in 2010).
1982	14 March. Taipei Taiwan East Stake is organized with Yen Yuan-Hu as stake president.
	1 April. First Presidency announces plans to build the Taipei Taiwan Temple.
	1 July. Taiwan Taichung Mission is dissolved and consolidated with the Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission.
	26 August. President Gordon B. Hinckley, counselor in the First Presidency, presides over ground breaking for the Taipei Taiwan Temple.
	Physical Facilities Department is established (formerly the Construction Department).
1983	20 September. Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission headquarters moves to Taichung and is renamed the Taiwan Taichung Mission.
	Seven-story building is purchased at Chin Hua Street to house Presiding Bishopric Administrative Offices (PBAO) in Church offices and apartments; it was later renamed the Taiwan Service Center.
1984	Asia Area Presidency is first organized, with Elder William R. Bradford as president (previous supervision by area executive administrator).
	15–16 September. Elder Howard W. Hunter presides over regional conference.
	17 November. Chang I-Ching is called as the first native regional representative.
	17–18 November. Taipei Taiwan Temple is dedicated by Gordon B. Hinckley, second counselor in the First Presidency, with John W. Clifford as the first temple president. Open house from 31 October to 10 November.
1985	May. Materials Management Department is established, and Financial Department becomes Finance and Records Department.
	1 July. Chen Yung-Chu (Larry) is the first Chinese mission president called to preside over the Taiwan Taipei Mission.
1987	15 February. Liu Chun-hua is called as regional representative.
	20–21 June. Elder Boyd K. Packer, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan to change Taipei Taiwan West Stake presidency.
1988	February. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
	16–17 April. Elder M. Russell Ballard, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presides over regional conference.
1989	4 June. First area leadership meeting held in Hong Kong and presided over by Elder Dallin H. Oaks. The meeting includes priesthood leaders from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
	June. The Church and the University of Chinese Culture complete a ten-year joint project to microfilm Chinese family records throughout Taiwan. About six thousand people attend a weeklong genealogical exhibition held in the new National Center Library in Taipei.
	20 November. Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, visits Taiwan.
1990	27–28 April. Elder Dallin H. Oaks presides over area training meeting held in Taiwan.
	3 May. Taiwan’s minister of the interior, Hsu Shui-teh, visits Church leaders in Taipei.
	29–30 May. General Young Women president Ardeth G. Kapp visits Taiwan.
1991	9 June. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presides over an area training meeting held in Hong Kong. He discusses the two handbooks of instructions and Providing in the Lord’s Way: Summary of a Leader’s Guide to Welfare.
1992	1 January. The Translation Department is separated from the Materials Management Department.
	15 March. Relief Society celebrates 150-year anniversary.
	21 March. Liang Shih-An is called as a regional representative.
	June. Elder Tai Kwok Yuen becomes the first Chinese General Authority when he is called into the Second Quorum of the Seventy.
	30 September. Church membership reaches twenty thousand members.
	20 November. Elder Neal A. Maxwell presides over an area training meeting held in Hong Kong. The meeting includes priesthood leaders from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
1993	20–21 February. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan to preside over regional conference.
	30 August. Wang Wei becomes the first Chinese temple president.
	19 November. Elder Neal A. Maxwell presides over an area training meeting held in Hong Kong.
1994	21–23 February. Elder Neal A. Maxwell visits Taiwan for a special fireside. The theme is missionary work, and 1,800 people attend.
	18 December. Taichung Taiwan Stake is organized with Chou Wen-Tsung as stake president (renamed the Taichung East Stake in 2015).
1995	1–3 January. Single-adult conference is held in Taiwan. It is the first time with members from Hong Kong and Singapore attending.
	1 April. Taiwan regional representative is changed to an Area Authority, with Liang Shih-An called as the first Chinese Area Authority.
	23 September. President Gordon B. Hinckley (President of the Church since 12 March 1995) reads “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”
1996	23 May. President Gordon B. Hinckley presides over a special conference for the fortieth-anniversary celebration. It includes a returned-missionary meeting.
	18–23 June. Taiwan’s fortieth-anniversary activity and display is held at Chin Hua Street chapel.
	28 October. General Relief Society president Elaine L. Jack visits Taiwan.
1997	Taipei Administrative Office is changed to Taiwan Service Center.
	5 April. Taiwan Area Authority is changed to an Area Seventy, with Elder Liang Shih-An called as the first Chinese Area Seventy.
	27 April. President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, and Elder Russell M. Nelson, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, preside over regional conference.
	Church celebrates the pioneer sesquicentennial, or 150-year anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley. The theme is “Faith in Every Footstep.”
	15 June. Tainan Taiwan Stake is organized with Chen Hsien Chin as stake president.
1998	24 May. Taipei Taiwan Central Stake is organized with Tzeng Shuei-Tyan (Konrad) as stake president.
	1 July. Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission is reestablished with Robert D. Murdock as mission president.
	15 August. Asia Area Presidency changes, with Elder Cree-L Kofford as president and Elders Richard E. Cook and H. Bryan Richards as counselors.
1999	1 January. Church magazine Voice of Saints becomes the Liahona.
	21 September. Earthquake strikes in Jiji, Nantou County. Church donates US $25,000 to the Taiwan Earthquake Fund, along with other donated goods by local members.
2000	1 January. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issue “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles.”
	18 January. CES Kaohsiung office is reestablished with Chou Po Nien (Felipe) as CES coordinator.
	14 February. Taipei Employment Resource Service Center (ERSC) is created. (The ERSC would be discontinued and replaced with the Self-Reliance Service (SRS) in 2014.)
	29 February. Kaohsiung Taiwan Stake establishes early-morning seminary.
	23 June. Kaohsiung and Pingtung combined seminary graduation is held. Presidents Kofford and Richards from the Asia Area Presidency congratulate the first twenty-two students to complete the first semester of early morning seminary.
	2 September. The movie Legacy is shown in Taiwan.
	2 October. Elder Yang Tsung-Ting (Jared) is called as an Area Seventy.
	31 December. Taichung Taiwan Mission has 1,024 convert baptisms this year. Church membership in Taiwan nears thirty thousand members.
2001	12 January. Chinese name of the Church is updated from “mòshì shèngtú” to “hòuqí shèngtú” or from 耶穌基督末世聖徒教會 to 耶穌基督後期聖徒教會.
	14 January. Elder L. Tom Perry, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presides over special conference in northern Taiwan.
	29 October. LDS Charities is recognized by Taiwan vice president Lu Hsiu-lien and Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou for its help after Typhoon Nari the previous month.
	8 July. Taoyuan Taiwan Stake is organized with Chen Cheng Erh (Michael) as stake president.
2002	20 January. Elder Dallin H. Oaks visits Taiwan.
	28 June. Taiwan receives satellite broadcast equipment and Nauvoo Illinois Temple dedication is broadcasted in Taiwan.
	29 June. President H. Bryan Richards, the Asia Area President, presides over a special remembrance activity for the Chin Hua Street chapel before it was torn down to make room for a new multipurpose Church Administration Building.
	November (through July 2003). SARS outbreak spreads in Asia.
2003	11 January. First worldwide leadership training satellite broadcast is held.
	March. Groundbreaking ceremonies for five new stake centers in Taiwan are held, including Tainan on 15 March, Kaohsiung on 21 March, Hualien on 22 March, and Taichung and Chung Hsing on 29 March. Other new Church meetinghouses follow.
	1 April. Elder Ho Yu-Chen (Philip) is called as an Area Seventy.
	14 December. Hsinchu Taiwan Stake is organized with Hong Wei-Chin as stake president.
2004	20 February. Bishop H. David Burton, Presiding Bishop of the Church, visits Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou.
	20 June. Chung Hsing Taiwan Stake is organized with Chen Ting Hui as stake president.
	1 July. CES Taichung office is established with Chou Po Nien (Felipe) as CES coordinator.
	30 October. Family Values Award is introduced in Taiwan.
	November. Preach My Gospel is introduced to the membership of the Church.
2005	17 February. General Relief Society president Bonnie D. Parkin visits Taiwan.
	July. Firesides are held to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
	1 August. President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicates the new multipurpose Church Administration Building in Taipei.
	17–18 August. Elder Dallin H. Oaks visits Taiwan.
2006	18–19 February. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
	13 November. Elder L. Tom Perry visits Taiwan to rededicate the Taipei Taiwan Temple.
	Fiftieth anniversary jubilee celebration is held: fireside and reunions in May, dedication memorial ceremony in June, bicycle relay in July–August, family history fair, cultural celebration, and island-wide youth conference in August.
2007	22 April. Taichung Taiwan North Stake is organized with Chang Jui Sheng as stake president (renamed Taichung West Stake in 2015).
	22 August. First Presidency announces the new Chinese translation of the triple combination (in traditional Chinese characters).
2008	1 April. Elder Chung Kuo Chiang (Joseph) is called as an Area Seventy.
	27 April. Elder Richard G. Scott, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
	One hundredth LDS congregation organized in Taiwan with the creation of the Mingchien Branch.
	16 July. Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou meets with Church delegation in Taiwan, headed by Elder Chung Kuo Chiang.
	October. New Chinese simplified triple combination is published.
2009	February. First group of local missionaries called to serve in Taiwan receive training at the Philippines Missionary Training Center (MTC).
	16–20 April. Elder A. David Bednar, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taipei. He also meets Taichung mayor Jason Hu.
	June. Fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of Taiwan for the preaching of the gospel.
	July. Kaohsiung Taiwan Mission is discontinued and consolidated into the Taichung Taiwan Mission.
	December. Chinese scriptures are available online. Church membership reaches 51,000 members.
2010	28 February. Kaohsiung Taiwan East Stake is organized with Yang Lei as stake president (renamed the Pingtung Taiwan Stake in 2015).
	April. Elder Juan Jui-Chang is called as an Area Seventy.
	May. Elder D. Todd Christofferson, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
	11 July. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, visits Taiwan.
	27–29 August. General Young Women president Elaine S. Dalton and Primary general president Rosemary M. Wixom visit Taiwan.
	16 September. Key Church terminology changes in Chinese.
	1 October. New familysearch.org site launches, facilitating family history in various languages in Asia.
2011	16–17 April. Richard E. Turley Jr., assistant Church historian, and Reid Neilson, managing director of the Church History Department, visit Taiwan.
	27–29 May. Elder David A. Bednar visits Taiwan. Meeting in Taipei is broadcasted to other locations in Taiwan.
	26–28 August. General Sunday School president Russell T. Osguthorpe visits Taiwan.
2012	October. The Church announces the age is lowered for full-time missionary service. (Note that Taiwan received an exception and had young men serving at age eighteen prior to the announcement.)
	9 November. General Young Women first counselor Mary N. Cook and general Relief Society second counselor Linda S. Reeves visit Taiwan.
2013	23 June. “The Work of Salvation” broadcast is aired to “hasten the work of salvation.”
	Fall. Elder Gerrit W. Gong, the Asia Area President, holds a special leadership meeting with all priesthood leaders in Taiwan to discuss doubling the number of stakes in Taiwan.
2014	22–23 February. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Presiding Bishop of the Church Gary E. Stevenson visit Taiwan.
	30 November. Taipei Taiwan South Stake is organized with Hsieh Hsien-Tso as stake president.
	30 November. Taipei Taiwan Temple celebrates thirty-year dedication anniversary.
	December. Temple ordinance work increases by 42.6 percent compared to the previous year, following changes made by temple president Ho Yu-Chen.
2015	4 April. Elder Kuan Ming-Shun is called as an Area Seventy.
	26 April. Taichung Taiwan South Stake is organized with Ho Shao Ming as stake president.
	21 June. Hualien Taiwan Stake is organized with Tsai Wen Fang as stake president.
	28 November. Elder Gary E. Stevenson, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visits Taiwan.
	13 December. Taipei Taiwan North Stake is organized with Hsu Chen Hsing as stake president.
	20 December. Kaohsiung Taiwan North Stake is organized with Li Chun Chia as stake president.
2016	26 June. Chiayi Taiwan Stake is organized with Hsiao Hsien Tsung as stake president.
	Church in Taiwan: 58,756 members, one temple, two missions, twelve family history centers, seventeen stakes, 116 wards or branches, and sixty-five meetinghouses.

Voice of the Saints in Taiwan

A History of the Latter-day Saints in Taiwan

Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou

Appendix 1: Key Historical Events in Taiwan

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