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President backs pig sacrifice as a part of Hakka culture

President Chen Shui-bian, center, is accompanied by Hsinchu County Commissioner Lin Kuang-hua, right, and Yimin Temple chairman Wei Yun-chieh for prayer at the temple in Hsinchu County yesterday. PHOTO: LIANG HSIU-HSIEN, TAIPEI TIMES

Speaking hours after the slaughter of the controversial "President Pig," President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday the practise of sacrificing "divine pigs" has been taking place for more than 170 years and must be respected as a part of Hakka culture.

"As a part of Hakka culture, it [sacrificing divine pigs] cannot be vilified, distorted or insulted by any individual or group," Chen said at the Hakka Yimin Cultural Festival in Hsinchu yesterday afternoon.

Chen's comments came in response to recent controversy sparked by animal-rights groups who blasted divine pig contests, for which pigs are forcibly fattened up before being sacrificed in a special ceremony.

At the center of the storm was the so-called President Pig supposedly sponsored by the president while on a trip to Hsinpu, Hsinchu County, last year.

The outcry, however, came too late to save the 720kg animal, which, following a week of uncertainty over its future, was eventually slaughtered at the Yimin festival yesterday morning.

Addressing the festival, Chen said that people still have to respect Hakka customs no matter their personal view of the president.

"People can oppose what I say and what I do. But that opposition cannot spill over against Hakka culture and customs," Chen said.

Chen supposedly made a vow to the Yimin god three years ago that he would sacrifice a divine pig if he was elected president, according to DPP Hsinchu chapter director Lin Wei-chou (林為洲).

In a bid to placate animal-rights activists, Chen instead sacrificed a pig made of rice, Lin said.

The President Pig was killed as scheduled in the name of "Chen Shui-bian and resident believers."

The pig failed to win the divine-pig competition, which picks out the biggest pig for an offering during the Yimin festival.
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