Relatives of last week's China Airlines disaster attended various religious ceremonies both in Penghu and Taipei yesterday to mourn the dead.
The Buddhist, Taoist and Christian ceremonies of mourning were held yesterday morning for the 225 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 747-200 that plunged into the sea last Saturday 20 minutes after taking off from Taipei's CKS airport en route to Hong Kong.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Lee Han (
"President Chen told me he understood how I felt and would help me accomplish my goal. We need to seek punitive compensation from the airlines," Lee said.
Chen also urged the search teams to continue their efforts and told them not to give up hope of recovering the bodies or the wreckage, Presidential Office Spokesman James Huang (黃志芳) said.
A man surnamed Chen from China told reporters in Penghu that he dreamt of his decreased daughter the day before yesterday.
"I dreamt of her last night," said Chen. "Saying nothing, she just returned unexpectedly and then left."
Chinese belief holds that seven days after the death of a family member the soul of the departed will return to his or her home.
Chinese funeral ceremonies traditionally last over 49 days, with the first seven days being the most important. Prayers are said every seven days for 49 days. The head of the family should be present for at least the first and possibly the second prayer ceremony.
Amid pouring rains in Penghu, religious ceremonies were held at Penghu's air force base as relatives gathered to pay their respects.
In an auditorium in Taipei, about 400 relatives also took part in a Buddhist ceremony with monks chanting softly and drumming lightly on wooden blocks.
Many bowed before strips of yellow paper that covered the walls of the auditorium. The strips bore the names of the 225 passengers and crew who were killed in the crash.
China Airlines executives wearing dark suits and pilots dressed in white uniforms joined the relatives as they sat on purple cushions, chanting Buddhist scriptures.
Searchers from Taiwan and China have recovered nearly 100 bodies from the sea off the Penghu archipelago, though more than half of the passengers are still missing.
Meanwhile, experts from the American Underwater Search and Survey Ltd (AUSS) reached Penghu yesterday to assist with the underwater retrieval of the wreckage as well as the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the plane.
Saying that the AUSS is planning to bring in some high-frequency acoustic facilities to help with the effort, veteran marine search expert John Perry Fish said the task was indeed "challenging but certainly not impossible."
Meanwhile, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) yesterday faxed its Chinese counterpart, to ask Beijing's assistance for related radar data to help locate the wreckage in the Taiwan Strait.
Many leaders including US President George W. Bush have sent their condolences to President Chen to express their sympathy with the familes of the victims, according to a foreign ministry press release.
"President Chen expressed his genuine appreciation for the condolence sent by the international community," a press release stated.
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