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Matsu temples are China's latest target

China's Chunghua Matsu Cultural Exchange Association (中華媽祖文化交流協會) is pursuing a "united front" strategy by actively trying to recruit Taiwanese temples to join the association, according to a report in a local Chinese-language newspaper.

About 60 Matsu temples around the country are said to have been made members of the association's board of directors, the report said.

It added that the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is taking the matter seriously, and has instructed all local governments to inform Matsu temples that membership in a Chinese organization is illegal and could result in heavy fines.

The request sent out by the ministry cited article 33 of the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例).

That article states that citizens or groups who are members of an officially prohibited Chinese party, government, army or other organization may be fined between NT$100,000 and NT$500,000.

The report said that the Chunghua Matsu Cultural Exchange Association was founded on Meizhou Island (湄洲島) in China's Fujian Province in October last year under the leadership of Zhang Kehui (張克輝), a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

CPPCC Chairman Jia Qinglin (賈慶林) attended the association's opening ceremony and delivered a speech.

According to the report, the ministry took an interest in the matter after finding out that the Chinese association had intensified its drive to enroll local temple associations, and that some Taiwanese temples and organizations had applied for membership and accepted official positions in the association.

The report said that the association sent a religious exchange delegation to Taiwan in May in order to present local Matsu temple officials with certificates, to promote tourism and as proof of having been appointed as officials in the association.

However, officials at several temples expressed surprise tha they are listed as members of the association's board, saying that they never applied for membership and knew nothing about the organization.

Those temples included two Matsu temples in Tainan, the Shengmu Temple (聖母宮) and the Luerhmen Tianhou Temple (鹿耳門天后宮), one in Tucheng (土城), the Orthodox Luermen Shengmu Temple (正統鹿耳門聖母廟) and one in Tachia (大甲) called the Chenlan Temple (鎮瀾宮).

The Chaotien Temple (朝天宮) in Peikang (北港) was said to have accepted membership in order to promote religious exchanges when it was first approached by the Chinese association. But it submitted a request to annul its membership as soon as it found out that the membership violated the act.
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