President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) made an unprecedented appearance yesterday at a temple in Chiayi County to attend a prayer ceremony, sharing the stage with controversial independent lawmaker Yen Ching-piao (顏清標).
To celebrate the birthday of Matsu (媽祖) -- goddess of the sea in Taoist beliefs -- Chen offered his prayers and shook hands with Yen at the Fengtien Temple (奉天宮), where the annual eight-day pilgrimage, which takes a palanquin bearing Matsu through central Taiwan, reached its half-way point.
At midnight Saturday, the starting ceremony in Tachia Chenlan Temple (
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The co-appearance of Chen and Yen triggered speculation that the president sought to court support from the lawmaker ahead of the presidential election. Yen is also the chairman of Chenlan Temple, where Matsu's image is located.
The procession is one of the most important religious rituals in Taiwan. While politicians pay homage to Matsu, they seize the chance to lobby support from the followers of the goddess.
PFP Chairman James Soong (
It was the first time that Chen attended the annual ceremony. Before then the president had avoided any contact with Yen in an effort to fulfill his vow to sever ties with murky "black gold" politics.
A gangster-turned politician, Yen was convicted last year on charges of corruption, attempted murder, possession of illegal firearms and obstruction of justice.
When campaigning for DPP lawmakers in 2001, the president had criticized Yen when the latter was detained for corruption, saying Yen could not be free from trouble even if he "prayed for help from Matsu."
In the presidential campaign in 2000, Chen had used Yen to attack Soong, saying Soong had "succumbed to corruption" because of his close relations with Yen.
During the ceremony, the president prayed for world peace and peace across the Strait.
Recalling his childhood memories, Chen said Matsu is the first goddess he was familiar with because the elderly often told him to pray to her, as she would grant him good luck and a good life.
The president said the Matsu procession is not only a national event, it is also a well-known international cultural activity and a source of pride for Taiwanese.
At a time when China is affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the president suggested Matsu followers not to embark on their tour to China, as they had practiced in the past.
He urged the followers to stay in Taiwan and arrange travel plans in the country because the scenic spots in Taiwan are no less attractive than those in China.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods