President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was heckled in Taipei's Wanhua District (萬華) yesterday when he attended a ceremony marking the 270th anniversary of the establishment of Longshan Temple (龍山寺).
About 30 protesters shouted “Ma Ying-gao, step down” (gao means “dog” in Taiwanese) outside the temple. The temple was closed yesterday morning because of Ma's visit. While the president left at around 11am, the temple was not open to the public until 1:30pm.
Ma visited the temple to attend the ceremony marking the 270th anniversary of the temple's construction and the completion of the renovation of the temple's Tung Pao Hall (通寶殿) and its bell and drum towers.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Built in 1738, Longshan Temple was designated as a second-class national historic heritage site in 1985. An earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, destroyed some of the stone pillars of the Tung Pao Hall, while some of the hall's wooden structure had rotted over time.
The “921 Earthquake” and the earthquake on March 31, 2002, also dealt a blow to the temple's bell and drum towers.
The temple was placed under tight security yesterday, with law enforcement officers forming a human chain to block the entrances.
An old married couple from Taoyuan said the temple manager told them that they had posted the announcement that the temple would be closed about a month ago, but they had no way of knowing because they lived in Taoyuan.
The temple manager told them the information was also available online, but they said they did not know how to use a computer.
Ma, who spent his childhood in Wanhua District, said Longshan Temple has been the center of religious worship since he was little. The temple has become one of the city's world-renowned landmarks, which include Taipei 101, the National Palace Museum and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, he said.
During his tenure as Taipei mayor, Ma said the city decided to open a Mass Rapid Transit System station at Longshan Temple, hoping to blend the old and new.
The city hoped the temple would continue to bless the region and ensure its prosperity, he said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS