The Cabinet yesterday denied accusations that an environmental measure to reduce the burning of incense and joss paper was an attempt to eliminate religious rites, saying that the measures are aimed at reducing air pollution, not interfering with religious freedom.
An Environment Protection Administration (EPA) initiative to reduce the use of incense and “ghost money” to minimize airborne pollutants has given rise to Internet rumors that the government plans to draft a religious associations act and phase out the practice of burning incense.
Dozens of local temples and religious organizations are to protest in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei on Sunday to demand the protection of religious traditions.
Photo: CNA
The Cabinet said that the EPA never intended to eliminate incense or joss paper, but only to encourage their reduced use for environmental reasons.
“It is a misunderstanding. The EPA has never banned incense or ghost money. Never. We only want to reduce the use of firecrackers, ghost money and incense due to environmental reasons,” Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Showing photographs of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Lin Chuan (林全) holding incense sticks during the Lunar New Year holiday, Hsu said the government respects and would never attempt to stop religious practice.
Photo: Liu Hsiao-hsin, Taipei Times
The Constitution protects religious freedom and any law limiting this freedom is prohibited, because it would be unconstitutional, Hsu said.
“To live up to their social responsibility, many temples have voluntarily reduced the use of incense, ghost money and firecrackers” without any government orders, Hsu said.
The EPA said the burning of incense and firecrackers produces fine particulate matter containing heavy metals and carcinogenic chemicals, and people exposed to such pollutants often complain of coughing and tearing eyes.
Photo: CNA
Air quality tests show that the concentration of air pollutants at one temple decreased by two-thirds after it voluntarily reduced the number of incense burners, suggesting that air pollution could be mitigated with reduced use of incense, the EPA said.
At a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) meeting on Wednesday, Tsai said the Cabinet was slow to respond to the rumors.
DPP sources quoted Tsai as saying that the Executive Yuan was passive in explaining the environmental policy, while Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) failed to promptly quell the rumor that a ban was to be imposed on religious practices.
The president asked the Cabinet to communicate with temples and religious organizations to reduce incense burning without causing misunderstanding.
The quality control of imported incense and ghost paper has to be improved to reduce airborne pollutants, Tsai said.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS