A long line of people formed in front of Taipei’s Longshan Temple yesterday, as worshipers jostled for the chance to register to light a good-luck luminary, a traditional ritual supposed to bring good fortune for the Lunar New Year.
Known in Mandarin as guangmingdeng (光明燈), the Taoist ritual, taking place at local temples before the Lunar New Year holidays, sees worshipers write down information about family members before temple staff put the information inside luminaries they help to light.
The service at Longshan Temple, one of the city’s oldest temples, has long been popular among worshipers, and people wait in line every year to register.
Photo: CNA
This year, the temple has increased the number of guangmingdeng from 12,000 to 18,000 to meet demand and avoid long lines.
However, worshipers still formed a line days before registration opened, with the first 1,000 slots filled before 7am yesterday.
A Taipei resident surnamed Shen (沈) who secured a slot said he and members of his family had taken turns to line up in front of the temple since last month because of the great competition for places in the service each year.
“Guangmingdeng is a important ritual that will give us a smooth year ahead and I think it’s worth the wait,” Sheng said.
The vice chairman of the temple, Huang Shu-wei (黃書瑋), said the temple had increased its number of luminaries this year and urged people not to line up in front of the temple.
The temple is accepting 1,000 registrations a day until the 18,000 slots have been filled.
However, some worshipers shouted at temple workers yesterday, urging the temple to increase the daily allocation of registration slots available after it was announced that the quota of 1,000 had been reached.
The temple agreed to accept another 200 registrations later that day.
Huang said the temple also offers online guangmingdeng and an tai sui services, and he encouraged people to complete the ritual online.
An online guangmingdeng service is also available at Taipei’s Bao An Temple. Xingtien Temple does not offer an online guangmingdeng service.
Lighting a luminary can cost from NT$600 to more than NT$2,000 depending on its size.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS