Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (
The newly-elected mayor and his wife, Yu Fang-chih (
Hsieh told the media in Kaohsiung that he and his wife believed in eternal life and Sung has helped them to achieve inner peace in a turbulent world. "Religion cannot be analyzed by reason. I believe God exists in the world," Hsieh said.
"One has to have an absolute faith in one's religious belief. You feel God's superpower only after you have no doubts about it."
Yu said on Tuesday that both she and her husband believe in Sung's divine powers. She claimed she had witnessed Sung's divinity with her eyes, insisting that the cult leader's spirit could leave his body and move around.
Hsieh said yesterday that he suggested his wife tell the truth when testifying at court, because there was no need to lie for the sake of his political future.
He said he was pleased that his wife and his children had witnessed Sung's divinity.
"I cannot deny it simply because I did not see it. I was happy for them," he said, adding that Sung once had 20,000 followers in China.
But the mayor dismissed media reports that Sung had predicted that Hsieh would become the first president after Taiwan reunites with China.
Sung was sued by some of his former followers for fraud in 1997.
One of 17 defendants in the case was Yu, who was charged for helping Sung publish a series of religious books to attract followers.
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