Representatives of more than 100 temples are to march in Taipei tomorrow to express their opinions about incense burning, rally organizer Wude Temple (武德宮) said yesterday, adding that the march is not intended as a protest against the government.
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has been promoting a reduction in the amount of fireworks, as well as incense and joss paper burned in religious activities in a bid to diminish air pollution.
However, Wude Temple in Yunlin County’s Beigang Township (北港) said local environmental protection officials had pressured it to “stop” burning incense.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
Representatives of Wude Temple and other temples last month formed the Defending Faith and Incense Alliance, which vowed to carry statues in the march from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to the Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei.
Wude Temple chairman Lin An-le (林安樂) said that the march is not aimed at protesting, but rather at appealing for the respect of religious beliefs and for autonomous management of temples.
Lin urged authorities to guide temples in setting up special incinerators for ghost money, establish regulations governing the use of firecrackers in temple activities instead of banning them and help improve cultural events involving temples instead of setting restrictions on them.
Following a clarification on Thursday by the Executive Yuan that talk of a “ban” was a misunderstanding, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators earlier yesterday strived to debunk what they called “rumors.”
Local temples can be said to be the “maternal home” of the DPP, as the party has held numerous activities in front of temples since it was an opposition party, DPP Legislator Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said.
The EPA and local environmental protection bureaus have never forced temples to remove incense burners, nor have they issued fines, EPA Department of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ping-hui (謝炳輝) said at a news conference held by DPP lawmakers.
A draft religious associations bill does not include any bans on the burning of incense or joss paper, or the use of fireworks, Ministry of the Interior Department of Civil Affairs Director Lin Ching-chi (林清淇) said, adding that the ministry was still working on the bill.
Lin Hsiu-chin (林秀琴), vice chairwoman of Fengtien Temple (奉天宮) in Chiayi County, said that its representatives would not join tomorrow’s march.
“We have not received any official documents about a ban on incense,” she said, adding that Fengtien Temple is promoting the use of electric fireworks in place of traditional fireworks.
Additional reporting by CNA
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary