The Formosan Christians for Self-Determination Movement: a Case Study of Overseas Taiwanese Christian Political Activism in the 1970s

In the 1970s, four overseas Taiwanese Christians launched the “Formosan Christians for Self-Determination Movement” ( FCSDM ) in the United States to promote the self-determination of the people of Taiwan. This article draws on three policy documents released by the FCSDM to argue that these Christians apparently embedded the Christian understanding of human rights within the secular political discourse of self-determination and sovereignty. In so doing, they strove to appeal to people from a broader spectrum of religious and national backgrounds rather than merely addressing Taiwanese Christians in their call for Taiwan’s self-determination.