 Front cover from April 2009 | |
| Frequency | Weekly |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Taiwan Church Press |
| First issue | 1885 |
| Country | Taiwan |
| Based in | Tainan |
| Language | Mandarin Chinese, some sections in Taiwanese |
| Website | http://weekly.pctpress.org |
The Taiwan Church News (Chinese: 台灣教會公報; pinyin: Táiwān Jiàohuì Gōngbào; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân Kàu-hōe Kong-pò) is a publication of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. It was first published in 1885 as the Tâi-oân-hú-siâⁿ Kàu-hōe-pò (臺灣府城教會報; Táiwān Fǔchéng Jiàohuì Bào; 'Taiwan Prefecture City Church News') under the direction of missionary Thomas Barclay, a British pastor of the Presbyterian Church, and was Taiwan's first printed newspaper, making it the longest-running newspaper in Taiwanese history. This early edition was also notable for being printed in romanised Taiwanese using the Pe̍h-ōe-jī orthography. The publication was banned during the latter stages of Japanese rule and editions were also impounded on several occasions during the martial law era in post-war Taiwan for discussing forbidden subjects. The newspaper is renowned for its use of Pe̍h-ōe-jī.
Contributing significantly to historical documentation in Taiwan, The Taiwan Church News contains extensive records of early local church history, current international events, and general knowledge. Its diverse content serves as an encyclopedia spanning the history of Taiwan, featuring declarations on human rights that document the recent history of democratic political development in Taiwan.[1]
- ^ Yang, Yun-Yan (2013). "白話字文獻中ê花東報導文學─以《台灣教會公報》1885~1911做例" [Literary Reports in Pe̍h-ōe-jī Documents: A Case Study of 'Taiwan Church News' 1885-1911]. Journal of Taitung University, Humanities and Social Sciences. 3 (1): 83–110.