Diplomats from several countries on Friday attended the start of the annual Dajia Matsu Pilgrimage at the Jenn Lann Temple (鎮瀾宮) in Taichung’s Dajia District (大甲).
The temple, the General Association of Chinese Taoism, the General Association of Chinese Culture and the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association invited diplomatic personnel from 13 countries and their families to attend the procession of the sea goddess Matsu (媽祖) — a nine-day, 340km journey to more than 100 temples.
Jenn Lann Temple chairman Yen Chin-piao (顏清標) greeted diplomatic staff and their families at a banquet before the start of the pilgrimage, which has been ranked by Discovery Channel as one of the top three religious events in the world and attracts millions of attendees each year.
Saint Lucian Ambassador Edwin Laurent said he had heard about the event and was excited to participate for the first time.
Acting deputy director of the Polish Office in Taipei Aleksandra Byra-Rys said it was beautiful that different religions and cultures coexist in Taiwan.
Other participants said it was impressive that Taiwan could hold an event of this scale amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Members of the group paid their respects to Matsu before proceeding to the viewing stand.
The diplomats were greeted by followers on their way to the temple, and many said they were impressed at the passion and friendliness of Taiwanese.
A representative from a South American country said the event was reminiscent of a carnival.
Another said the atmosphere was “open-minded” and accepting, whereas religious events abroad are often only attended by devout followers.
A representative from a European country said it was amazing to witness the dedication and faith Taiwanese had for Matsu.
Commenting on how attendees helped each other, distributing water, towels and other items along the way, the European representative said it was the same spirit that allowed Taiwan to contain COVID-19.
The procession is on Tuesday to arrive at Fengtien Temple (奉天宮) in Chiayi County, where a ceremony would be held to celebrate the birthday of the sea goddess, before the pilgrims’ return journey starts that evening.
Additional reporting by CNA
Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) mention of Taiwan’s official name during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Wednesday was likely a deliberate political play, academics said. “As I see it, it was intentional,” National Chengchi University Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies professor Wang Hsin-hsien (王信賢) said of Ma’s initial use of the “Republic of China” (ROC) to refer to the wider concept of “the Chinese nation.” Ma quickly corrected himself, and his office later described his use of the two similar-sounding yet politically distinct terms as “purely a gaffe.” Given Ma was reading from a script, the supposed slipup
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
The bodies of two individuals were recovered and three additional bodies were discovered on the Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑) in Taroko National Park, eight days after the devastating earthquake in Hualien County, search-and-rescue personnel said. The rescuers reported that they retrieved the bodies of a man and a girl, suspected to be the father and daughter from the Yu (游) family, 500m from the entrance of the trail on Wednesday. The rescue team added that despite the discovery of the two bodies on Friday last week, they had been unable to retrieve them until Wednesday due to the heavy equipment needed to lift