Hundreds of Mongolians in Taiwan, including those who followed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime as it fled across the Taiwan Strait in 1949, as well as Mongolian students yesterday paid their tribute to the Mongol Empire founder, Genghis Khan, at a ceremony in Taipei organized by the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission.
However, many said the ceremony was not authentic.
Presenting incense, liquor and khata — a silk scarf used by Mongolians to show respect — hundreds of Mongolians, as well as commission Minister Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪), paid their respects to the former ruler.
Photo: CNA
Following the rituals, music and dance performances were held by troupes from China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
In the seating area of the ritual venue, several Mongolian students took pictures and recorded videos with their smartphones.
“This [ritual] is different from what we do in Mongolia,” said Anir, a 23-year-old Mongolian master’s student in business administration at Ming Chuan University.
“It’s also a little strange to see a foreign government hosting a ritual to pay respects to our national hero,” Anir said. “I guess they’re doing it for those Mongolians who came to Taiwan with [former president] Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).”
Another Mongolian student, studying at National Taipei University of Technology, who declined to give her name, said there was also a ritual to honor Genghis Khan in Mongolia, but it takes place in July.
“Because that’s when Genghis Khan created the Mongol Empire,” she said.
Luo said that yesterday, which was the 21st day of the third month of the lunar calendar, is the day when Mongolians traditionally gather at Genghis Khan’s tomb in Inner Mongolia.
“The ceremony, which takes place once every year, is conducted in accordance with traditional Mongolian customs,” Luo said.
Eighty-three-year-old Gechitul, who was born in Inner Mongolia and followed the KMT regime to Taiwan, served as one of the chief celebrants at the ceremony. He said the offerings used in the ritual were not exactly what they would traditionally use.
“The ceremony should take place on the 21st day of the third lunar month — the date is correct, but the offerings are a little different,” he said.
Mongolians would either pay their respects to Genghis Khan as a group in public or at home, he said.
“When you do it at home, the ritual is more simple, but the offerings would usually include cheese, milk, liquor and butter,” he said. “When you do it in public and in a group, it’s more formal and offerings would include the ‘nine whites,’” which include a white goat, white goat fur, a white bull, a white camel, a white horse, milk, yogurt and a white khata.
“But of course, most of the ‘nine whites’ are not available in Taiwan and thus some alternatives are acceptable,” he said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS