The Asian Coalition for Farm Animals (ACFA) yesterday urged Master Temples (
The coalition, consisting of animal protection groups from Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and the UK, told a press conference in Taipei that Master Temples should stop force-feeding pigs and entering them in "divine pig" contests.
Master Temples worship the Clearwater Master (
PHOTO: MEGGIE LU, TAIPEI TIMES
The contest is a tradition that rewards a gold medal to owners of the heaviest pig at annual Master Temple prayer ceremonies, Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) president Wu Hung (
The winning pig, or "divine pig," is then slaughtered in public "while fully conscious" and offered to the Master, Wu Hung said.
"To achieve the status of a `divine pig,' the pigs are force-fed for up to two years and confined in pigpens that are so small they can hardly turn to ensure minimum movement," Wu Hung said, adding that champion pigs weigh up to 600kg -- six times the normal body weight for pigs.
"We are by no means preaching against traditional religious ceremonies," said Amy Firth, campaign manager of the World Society for the Protection of Animals [UK]. "We are saying that there are better ways to show respect to the Master than sacrificing the well-being of a life."
Wu Hung said that of the 118 temples they talked to, only three have held the contest in recent years.
"Sansia's (
"We earnestly plead with them to end it," he said.
After the press conference a parade of ACFA volunteers boarded a bus to Sansia's Master Temple to offer them "an alternative way to respect God" -- a colorful, life-sized, smiling pig made of cardboard and decorated with flowers and candy, Wu Hung said.
They were met, however, by Sansia's police force and local government officials, who blocked the parade's entrance to the temple, saying they were in violation of the Assembly and Parade Law (
"The officials told us to respect local traditions and refused the cardboard pig," he said.
"However, we received some local cheers, and in the end we went into the temple to offer flowers and candy to the Master to pay our respects," he said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS