A group of Shaolin monks from China will arrive in Taiwan next Thursday after their sponsors changed the itinerary to satisfy government regulations, Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman You Ying-lung (
You said that the monks had to abide by the regulation "group in, group out," which means that they must enter and leave the country as a group.
"During the period of their visit in Taiwan, the monks are only allowed to engage in activities with martial art professionals, and not the general public," You said.
An application for the Shaolin monks' tour was rejected by the council last month because it violated regulations.
The application was submitted by the Chinese Shaolin Association and Taiwan Secom Co on June 20. They had arranged for 45 monks from the Songshan Shaolin Temple in Henan Province to teach Shaolin kung fu at summer camps.
According to the original itinerary, classes were to be open to the general public and would be held at public facilities such as school playgrounds and parks. The activity had attracted more than 4,000 enrollments at a cost of NT$1,200.
The council said that the monks had to limit their "exchanges" to martial arts professionals and not the general public, and that the monks should stay in one group during the visit.
Council Vice Chairman Johnnason Liu (
He said earlier that the monks could perform in specialist locations such as martial-arts studios and share their skills with local martial arts practitioners, but would not be permitted to interact with anyone else. In addition, charging for lessons would be illegal, Liu said.
Event sponsors said that the cancellation of the kung fu lessons for the public had cost it NT$21 million (US$660,000) in publicity.
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