Prosecutors from the Black Gold Investigation Center (
Chenlan Temple, located in Tachia township (大甲鎮), Taichung County, was not always the well-known temple it is now. However, the temple followers' annual pilgrimage to Chaotien Temple (朝天宮) in Peikang township (北港鎮) brought notoriety to Chenlan Temple. It is believed that the pilgrimage to Chaotien Temple, a sacred place for all Matsu (媽祖) believers, purify the pilgrims spiritually. The ascetic annual pilgrimage of the believers from Chenlan Temple over the years has become a distinguishing aspect of Taiwanese culture. Unfortunately, due to the discord among factions, the temple's board decided to invite Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), Taichung County Council speaker, to chair the temple's board of directors, and the temple was thereby destined to become entangled in politics.
First, Yen announced that Matsu has told him to support Soong for the presidency. Meanwhile, violating his own principle that "politics ought to stay politics," After the election, Chenlan Temple officials claimed that Matsu granted permission for a pilgrimage to Meizhou (
On the other hand, although investigators said that they were only investigating suspected business crimes and illegal land ownership related to the temple, people were unable to understand why these apparently common crimes, if substantiated, would invoke investigation. We thereby sincerely hope that the new government can also live up to the principle of "let politics stay politics" and does not incriminate individuals for supporting different presidential candidates.
Yu Chien is an associate professor at Tzu-Chi College of Medicine and Humanities.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath