A fugitive wanted by the Japanese colonial government and a hated troublemaker of rich businessmen in Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), Taiwan’s “Robin Hood” — Liao Tien-ting (廖添丁) — made a triumphant return to Dadaocheng yesterday, a century after his death.
Fanfare, drumbeats and firecrackers heralded his approach as dozens of devotees carrying sedan chairs with figures of Liao left Hanmin Temple (漢民祠) — also known as the Liao Tien-ting Temple — in Bali Township (八里), Taipei County, early in the morning to travel to Xiahai Chenghuang Temple (霞海城隍廟) in Dadaocheng.
Liao is one of the immortals worshipped at the temple in Taipei.
PHOTO: LOA IOK-SIN, TAIPEI TIMES
Liao’s statues were taken to Dadaocheng by a boat on the Tamsui River (淡水河), accompanied by several sampans.
Liao was born in 1885 to a poor family in a Taichung County coastal village. He reportedly mastered martial arts at a young age. Official police records and newspaper reports from the Japanese colonial period show he was one of the most wanted criminals of the time, committing several thefts and robberies and often narrowly escaping the police.
Many Taiwanese considered him a hero because most of his victims were Japanese police officers or rich Taiwanese merchants on good terms with the colonial government. Legend says he usually distributed his takings to the poor.
Liao was most active in 1909. In less than six months, he robbed several tea merchants in Shilin (士林) and Dadaocheng, stole guns and ammunition from a police station in Dadaocheng, killed a Taiwanese informer for the colonial police in Keelung and robbed a Taiwanese neighborhood administrator.
In November 1909 the police were led to Liao’s hideout in a cave in Guanyin Mountain (觀音山) in Bali Township, by his friend Yang Lin (楊林). Liao, 27, was killed as he tried to shoot Yang.
Although locals began visiting Liao’s grave in Bali soon after his death, it wasn’t until after the end of Japanese rule in 1945 that a temple was built in his honor at the gravesite.
A crowd gathered at Dadaocheng’s pier long before the boats’ arrived from Bali.
“We extend our sincere welcome on your arrival,” a man from the Xiahai Chenghuang Temple said as the men holding Liao’s statues stepped off the boat, while Datong District (大同) chief Hsieh Cheng-chun (謝正君) paid his respects with three incense sticks.
Liao’s statues were paraded through streets in the area, before being placed in the main hall of Xiahai Chenghuang Temple.
“Liao is an important person in Datong’s history, because this is where he was most active,” Hsieh said. “We wanted to remind people about the history and this is why we organized this event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Liao’s death.”
Asked why the Xiahai Chenghuang Temple had a statue of Liao, Hanmin Temple Administrative Committee chairman Lin Yao-kun (林堯昆) said Liao used to hide money and valuables under the tables in the temple “before distributing them to the poor.”
Yesterday’s celebrations included traditional storytelling, lion dancing and a puppet show. More performances will take place this morning outside the Hanmin Temple in Bali, while an opera about Liao will be performed at Xiahai Chenghuang Temple tonight from 7pm to 9pm.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique