Mt. Zion

The word Zion makes people think of the Bible, Jerusalem, novels, or maybe movies like the "Matrix". In the mountainous area of the Hsiaolin District in Kaohsiung, a mountain was crowned "Holy Mt. Zion", and for believers, the mountain there is as sacred as Jerusalem or even more. "Holy Mt. Zion" engraved on a colossal rock, cherub statues watch over the visitors at the entrance, well maintained infrastructures and the stupendous scenery, Mt. Zion stands out from its neighbors: the crumbling mountains and roads that were destroyed by the devastating typhoon Morakot in 2009. I didn't know what to expect in the Mt. Zion, but the last thing I expected was the hatred that ruled/rooted in this Eden. Posters, TV, and preaching were all about the evil nature of the Kuomintang Party (KMT) and how the prophet and his followers were persecuted in the past. I had the feeling that I was walking into a Falundafa's protest venue. To get to know the history better I went to their museum and talked to a guide. Here is the brief of their story.

Elijah Hong, the prophet as they claimed to be, came to this mountain known originally as Shuanglianku in 1963 and started to practice a living style as a farmer and worshiped Jesus Christ. In 1980, the KMT plundered the land and ousted the people as this land was chosen as the graveyard for the president, Jingguo Jiang. In the following 7 years, they camped on the river side at the feet of the mountain trying to fight KMT under the martial law and finally they won the battle and returned to Zion. They rebuilt their homestead and started organic agricultue transforming Zion into Eden.

I sympathize with what happened to them 30 years ago and I admire their courage and perseverance but what I can't understand is that in the name of God these people can't let go of the past and allow hatred to overshadow the central idea of what the prophet was told, turning the Holy Mt. Zion into an outpost against the KMT. During my brief stay, all I saw and heard was how they focused on demonizing the KMT instead of preaching their beliefs regardless of the time that has moved forward more than 3 decades. The past can not be forgotten but could be forgiven, in the name of God, I hope they find their inner peace.

cherub statues   

City of David

Holy temple

Tree house