A Consumers’ Foundation survey on how famous temples are working to reduce air pollution by limiting the use of incense for worship, suggested two of the 10 most popular temples did not reduce their number of incense pots and several temples sold uncertified “eco-friendly incense.”
As of December 2014, there were 12,106 registered temples nationwide and 1,237 in the Greater Taipei area.
The common mixed-use zoning of residential and commercial areas in Taipei means that air pollution from temples burning incense can directly affect the health of nearby residents, the foundation said.
Taipei’s Xingtian Temple (行天宮) enforced a policy banning incense burning and food offerings in August 2014, and several temples followed its eco-friendly policy by reducing incense pots or the number of incense sticks burned in each pot.
The foundation yesterday said its survey of 64 temples in northern Taiwan showed several famous temples in Taipei reduced incense pot numbers and the number of incense sticks from three per pot to one per pot, including Longshan Temple (龍山寺), Baoan Temple (保安宮) in Dalongdong (大龍峒) and Tianhou Temple (天后宮) in Ximending (西門町).
However, among the nation’s top 10 most popular temples, as voted by netizens, Zihnan Temple (紫南宮) in Nantou County and Lugang Tianhou Temple (天后宮) in Changhua County did not take such actions, the survey showed.
Yuandao Kuanyin Temple (緣道觀音廟) in New Taipei City’s Sanjhih Township (三芝) was found to be selling bundles of 10 incense sticks for the relatively high cost of NT$1,000, it said.
Foundation chairman Alan Lu (陸雲) said nine of the temples surveyed sell or give for free “eco-friendly incense” to worshipers, but only one of the “eco-friendly incense” products (used at Longshan Temple) met the government’s Chinese National Standards 15047, for levels of formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metal substances.
Lu said long-term exposure to smoke and VOCs, especially benzene, produced by burning incense can adversely affect the eyes, skin, respiratory system and central nervous system.
The foundation urged the Environment Protection Administration to set standards for incense products and product examination standards, and advised worshipers to avoid using incense containing artificial additives, as well as reduce the amount of incense used.
Lu said that despite having banned incense burning, Xingtian Temple was still voted the most popular temple in the nation, so worshipers should keep in mind that being sincere and faithful is more important than incense when worshiping.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a