The annual pilgrimages taken from Matsu temples to Chaotian Temple (朝天宮) in Yunlin County’s Beigang Township (北港), one of the most recognized ancient temples of its kind in Taiwan, was designated as a cultural heritage asset of national importance on Saturday last week.
The Beigang Matsu pilgrimages, as well as their cultural and religious significance, represent nationwide and cross-regional diversity, Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) was quoted as saying in a press release by the Ministry of Culture.
The ministry said that all participants in a review meeting of Taiwanese folklore practices agreed to upgrade the status of the pilgrimages, currently “Yunlin County-designated folk customs.”
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
An official announcement would be made soon, the ministry said, adding that the Beigang Chaotian Temple, established in about 1700 in Yunlin County, would be recognized as the activity’s preserver.
The decision would also make the temple, which hosts millions of Matsu worshippers forming 3,000 pilgrimage groups each year, the first entity in Taiwan responsible for maintaining two cultural heritage assets of national importance.
In 2011, the temple was tasked with preserving the annual Beigang Matsu procession on the 19th and 20th days of the third lunar month, where the statue of the sea goddess is carried by a palanquin across Yunlin County.
Matsu, also known as Tian Hou (Queen of Heaven), is a deity who has been worshipped since at least the 12th century.
Originating from China’s Fujian Province, Matsu was a shamaness believed to have special powers in protecting fishermen and seafarers.
Over the centuries, the worshipping of Matsu spread through China’s coastal regions and in overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Belief in Matsu was brought to Taiwan by early Chinese settlers and is still widely held.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS