Longshan Temple, one of Taipei’s most popular places of worship, has decided to limit the number of incense sticks worshipers can burn to one stick starting on May 5 in an effort to curb PM2.5 particulates.
The burning of incense releases PM2.5 pollutants — fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or smaller in diameter — and other possibly carcinogenic materials into the air, and temple authorities have decided to limit the number of incense sticks that an individual can burn to one, Longshan Temple vice chairman Huang Shu-wei (黃書瑋) said.
Huang said the temple would inform worshipers of the new policy, and encourage them to go around the temple and worship all the gods and goddesses before placing their incense stick in an incense burner at the end of their tour of worship.
Photo: Chang I-chen, Taipei Times
The temple also plans to cut the number of incense burners at the temple from three to one, Huang said.
Worshipers tend to burn many incense sticks at the temple, placing them in incense burners along the way.
Huang said that since the temple first cut the number of incense burners from seven to three in 2015, many people have begun to “worship with their hearts” instead of burning incense to show support for the temple’s move, and the temple would now encourage this environmentally friendly practice.
The concentration of PM2.5 particulates remained high even after the reduction in the number of incense burners, especially on the first and the 15th day of each lunar month, and Huang said the temple considered removing all the incense burners at one point, but it aborted the plan after many worshipers implored temple authorities to keep at least one incense burner on the premises.
Asked if the temple would eventually remove all the incense burners, Huang said it would decide after seeing if the concentrations of PM2.5 improve.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS