Fangsheng (放生), the release of animals that are slated for slaughter to save their lives, is not a practice of benevolence if it is not guided by wisdom, because it could harm the animals and the natural environment, environmental protection and religious groups said yesterday, urging some Buddhist organizations to stop the practice.
Yesterday was the first day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, marking the beginning of Ghost Month (鬼月), which, according to Chinese tradition, is when the spirits of the dead are permitted to leave the underworld and enter the human world once more.
Documentary maker Lin Jui-chu (林瑞珠) said that during this month, it is customary for people to prepare food to appease the spirits, while some religious groups hold fangsheng events, believing the practice allows devotees to accumulate good deeds and merit.
At a press conference yesterday, Lin presented a video clip showing hundreds of worshipers standing by a river, passing on buckets of live fish and releasing the fish into the water, while a Buddhist monk talked of how setting 500,000 milkfish and 500,000 earthworms free was a merciful act that would bring health and good fortune to the practitioners.
“However, fangsheng is actually setting something free to die,” Lin said, as many animals were hurt or died in the process of setting them free — not including those that were hurt or killed when they were being captured.
“The original purpose of fangsheng was to protect lives, but releasing large numbers of animals in habitats that they don’t belong in is an act of benevolence without wisdom,” Buddha’s Light International Association general secretary Master Jue Pei (覺培法師) said. “Many of the animals were captured for the purpose of being released.”
Taiwan Academy of Ecology secretary-general Tsai Chih-hao (蔡智豪) said although the custom should be respected, it could also lead to a widespread transmission of diseases because some of the released animals were imported from overseas.
“The best method to protect lives should be to protect the animals’ original habitats,” he added.
Huang Hsien-yi from the Taichung Buddhist Lotus Society, an organization that used to hold fangsheng activities, said they were considering promoting vegetarianism as the best way to protect lives and to transfer worshipers’ donations for setting animals free into support funds for wildlife rescue centers, animal shelters and stream conservation projects.
Lin Kuo-chang (林國彰), a Council of Agriculture official, said the three animal-related laws — the Wildlife Protection Act (野生動物保育法), Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) and the Fisheries Act (漁業法) — are not enough to put a stop to the practice as they only briefly touch on the issue of fangsheng.
The council is preparing to propose an amendment that would require groups to seek approval from the council before holding fangsheng events, he said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
RSS