Devotees of Matsu in Taiwan and Thailand are forging closer ties at a ceremony to mark 20 years since the founding of a temple in Bangkok, as well as the start of work to expand the site devoted to the sea goddess, officials said on Thursday.
The Nam Yao Mazho Gyung Thailand in Mueang Samut Sakhon District is building a new main temple to be completed in five years, said Kuo Hsiu-min (郭修敏), head of the construction committee.
Taiwanese businesspeople introduced Matsu to the area 20 years ago, Kuo said.
Photo: CNA
Representatives of Changhua Nanyao Temple (彰化南瑤宮) in 2006 transported the deity to the Thailand temple to grant it permission to establish a “branch shrine,” she said.
“Over the past two decades, Mazho Temple has flourished, providing divine protection to Taiwanese and Thais alike,” she said.
“It has become an important site for cultural and folk religion exchanges between our two countries,” she said.
More than 1,000 people from across Thailand, as well as visitors from Taiwan, attended the ceremony, officials said.
Representative to Thailand Peter Lan (藍夏禮), Changhua Mayor Lin Shih-Hsien (林世賢) and Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) participated in a groundbreaking ceremony.
Lin Chao-kun (林朝坤), head of the main temple committee, thanked those who donated to a fund to help finance the construction project, adding that more would be needed to complete the project.
“It will be an expansive new temple to sustain our belief in Matsu and Taiwanese culture for the next generation,” Lin said.
“The temple will continue to organize charity events and cultural exchange programs, deepening the good relationship between Taiwan and Thailand, and allowing the benevolence of Matsu to bless more people,” Lin said.
“We will remember this day forever, as the construction project was the result of the wishes and determination of devotees,” Kuo said.
“Building a new temple is an arduous road and it cannot be achieved by a few people, but needs us all and our hard work,” she said.
The start of work on the new temple represents the desire of devotees over the past 20 years who have waited to see their dream realized, she said.
“The plan is to hold a ceremony for the raising of the roof beam in two years and for construction to be completed within three to five years,” she added.
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