Beijing has been influencing voters who frequent Matsu temples, particularly those with no clear political leanings, as well as low to middle-income earners, researchers said at a forum on Tuesday.
Matsu temples have political influence over more than 925 people each on average, and boroughs with temples have been more prone to vote for pro-China parties, Shih Hsin University associate professor Liu Yu-hsi (劉裕皙) said, adding that the trend has been most evident in central and southern Taiwan.
Borough wardens believed to have been influenced by China had allegedly mobilized people to support the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) policies, said National Sun Yat-sen University associate professor Sher Chien-yuan (佘健源), who also spoke at the forum.
This comes as no surprise given wardens from Tainan were the subject of an investigation in December last year after reports that they had been organizing junket trips to China.
Politics and religion should be kept separate, but it is not so simple in Taiwan. Many local belief systems have their roots in China, and while Christian churches tend to align themselves with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), even DPP candidates visit Buddhist and Matsu temples while campaigning.
Nearly 28 percent of Taiwanese follow folk religions, 20 percent practice Buddhism and 19 percent follow Taoism, al-Jazeera English said on Jan. 4, citing statistics from the American Institute in Taiwan.
“More than just religious organizations, temples have long been the cornerstones of their local community, especially in rural areas,” the article said. “Taiwan’s faithful is such an important class of voters that Foxconn founder Terry Gou [郭台銘] invoked deities numerous times while floating the idea of running for president.”
Temple leaders are often politically connected, it said. China knows this. Through temples — especially Matsu temples, which have large followings in Taiwan and China — it seeks to influence religious leaders and worshipers with rhetoric about Taiwanese and Chinese being “one family.”
However, what kind of family is it when China regularly threatens Taiwan with military action, coerces international organizations into barring Taiwan’s participation and frequently imposes arbitrary, unilateral trade restrictions on the nation?
The Chinese Communist Party has little regard for Taiwanese. This is evident in comments by Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye (盧沙野), who in 2022 said Taiwanese would be “re-educated” if China were to annex the nation, while comments on Chinese social media frequently say that China would “leave the island and not the people” (留島不留人).
Moreover, China has a disdain for organized religions, most of which are outlawed, while the remainder face severe scrutiny and harassment. It is shortsighted of religious leaders in Taiwan to align themselves with China or any pro-China party — something that the DPP ought to remind them of.
In the US, the Internal Revenue Code stipulates that “organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”
Taiwan should impose similar rules, and temple leaders — as well as borough wardens — who have received remuneration from the CCP or its affiliates should face criminal charges, while their organizations should lose their income tax exemptions.
Taiwanese who go to temples should question the sincerity of spiritual leaders who not only pursue financial gain, but do so at the expense of democracy and the public good.
The DPP must set a clear precedent and while the KMT might object, it would be hard-pressed to justify why religious organizations should be allowed to receive funding and instructions from any foreign power, let alone China.
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