With the Tomb Sweeping Festival approaching, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday held a press conference to publicize innovative, environmentally friendly ways to remember loved ones that are gaining popularity.
People can now choose to worship their ancestors online using digital flowers, offerings and incense that can be dragged and dropped on a virtual altar of one’s choice, or buy paper money that is designed with larger denominations so that less paper is burned, or incense sticks that are much shorter than traditional ones so air pollution is reduced, officials said.
“In the past few years the EPA has been suggesting worshippers forego burning paper money and incense, or lighting firecrackers, and instead pray with their bare hands and offer fresh fruit and flowers,” director-general of the EPA’s Department of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control, Yang Ching-shi (楊慶熙), said.
However, taking into consideration that some people may feel skipping these traditional rituals would be disrespectful to their ancestors and gods, Yang said the EPA has developed an array of alternative praying methods.
“For example, the Taoyuan County environmental bureau Web site offers a ‘virtual worship’ service for Web users across the country. Worshippers can personalize a digital altar, complete with the name of the deceased, offerings, a Christian cross or Buddhist sutras and background music,” Yang said.
Paper money, which is burned during ceremonies as offerings to gods and ancestors, but emits floating particles, heavy metals, benzene and methane during incineration, has also been revolutionized, Yang said.
“Whereas traditional paper money comes in thick stacks, the new paper money now comes in smaller stacks, with each sheet bearing a larger denomination. In one temple in Ilan County, the money is even made into a single sheet,” he said.
Other eco-friendly ways to worship include donating the money that one would have spent to buy paper money and other offerings to charities or playing firecracker sounds on a stereo instead of lighting real firecrackers.
Since 2005 twelve cities and counties have offered centralized burning services at local incinerators, Yang said.
“At the end of the day, when it comes to worshipping, what matters most is a sincere heart. I am certain that gods and ancestors would also approve of these modern methods of prayer,” he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS