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George Leslie MackayGeorge Leslie Mackay (偕叡理 or 馬偕 = M-kai), the first (modern) missionary to northern Taiwan, was born in Zorra, Oxford County, Canada West ( Ontario ), Canada, on 21 March 1844. Educated in Toronto and Princeton Seminary in the USA, he was sent by the Canada Presbyterian Church, a predecessor of the Presbyterian Church in Canada (also: see the United Church of Canada); he arrived in Taiwan in 1871. After consulting with Dr James Laidlaw Maxwell Sr, the first (modern) missionary to Formosa (who was working in the north of the island), he arrived at Tamsui in 1872. He worked in Tamsui until his death. Starting with a dentistry practice amongst the lowland aborigines, he later established churches, schools and a hospital. He married Tiuⁿ Chhang-miâ, a lowland aborigine. Even today, some families in Taiwan trace their surname '偕' ('Kai' or 'Kay') to their conversion to Christianity by Mackay. The churches he planted became the Northern Synod of the present Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. Mackay died of throat cancer on June 2 1901. He was buried near Oxford College (牛津學堂; now Aletheia University, 真理大學) in Tamsui. A major private sector hospital in downtown Taipei had been named in his honour. In recent years, Mackay has been rescued from obsurity as part of the rise of Taiwanese nationalism and the associated state projects of constructing a Taiwanese identity and Taiwan centred histories. On June 30, 2004, a large bust statue of George Leslie Mackay was dedicated outside the Oxford County offices in Woodstock, ON,. There was a large delegation from Taiwan, including representatives from Aletheia University, The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the United Church of Canada, as well as local, regional, and National dignitaries, and a number of his descendents from across North America. External links Mackay, George Leslie
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