Walking along the street, it is not difficult to spot small red iron pails or dark-brown barrels in front of stores and houses. Almost every day, Taiwanese burn a lot of paper money in the barrels for various reasons, such as praying for recovery from illness, a big fortune or ancestral blessings. Those buckets — like small smokestacks — can be found along main roads and in small alleys throughout the year.
The average Taiwanese believes paper money serves the purpose of pacifying dead souls. Routine burning follows the major dates marked on the lunar calendar: the first and 15th of every month and other special dates for festivals or worshipping local gods.
People also execute the ritual for themselves, if they are feeling uncomfortable, unhealthy or wish to attain something. Especially in the seventh lunar month — when the dead are released from the underworld — people prepare a wide range of foods and burn enormous amounts of paper money.
The pervasive influence of mass media, with their eye-catching advertisements, constantly stimulate our desire to buy. How can we quickly find wealth and feed our desire for luxury?
By worshipping local gods, ancestors or unknown spirits, people think they can get easy access to money, or win the lottery. This reinforces materialism while pushing us to the edge of tragedy.
For many years, cigarette smoking has been known to be a health hazard and widespread smoking bans have been discussed. But the fact that smoke from burning paper money can be as hazardous as the smoke from cigarettes is met with silence.
Not only that, but paper money is often coated with thin layers of metal that release even worse toxins than cigarettes. The white lingering haze is devouring our health like an unstoppable monster.
Why don’t I see worry on people’s faces?
Another controversy is global warming. The issue has everyone wondering how to balance economic development and protection of the environment. Much blame has been placed on industry and transportation as the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions. Taiwan has a third source — the burning of paper money for religious reasons adds to global warming and degrades our air quality.
Narrow-mindedness is a stumbling block to change. More ridiculous is that current anti-air pollution legislation cannot fulfill its goals because of a lack of political will.
The grim fact is that inspectors allow this behavior to continue either because of limited manpower, or to show tolerance for religious customs, despite the fact the law stipulates stiff penalties.
Add to that recent years of chaos, political graft, stagnant policy and falling economy and one conclusion jumps to mind: Except for individual experts, no one — from residents to governments officials — seems to care about Taiwan’s air quality.
No wonder that, according to the Environmental Protection Administration, thousands of tonnes of paper are burned in temple furnaces every year, and the amount is increasing.
What we can do? One way is to transform the customs. In Japan, people embrace different rituals when praying. The clean, efficient expression brings a thrill and awe to the eyes of passed-away spirits. No health hazards, but endless reminiscences.
With the international discussion on curbing global warming in full swing, Taiwan’s government should hurry to enforce anti-air pollution legislation before citizens become more vulnerable to its acute influence.
Tsai Wan-jung is a freelance writer based in Taipei.
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