A Chinese man who claims to have spent time in jail for setting fire to Japanese property in Japan and South Korea has threatened to burn down a Japanese shrine in Pingtung County.
The man, who identified himself as Liu Qiang (劉強), said in a video on Twitter that he plans to “rid Taiwan of the obstruction caused by separatists and allow the ‘mother country’ to be united.”
Liu described plans to visit Pingtung County “some time in September” to destroy the Gaoshi Shrine (高士神社), which was built “on Chinese land by Japanese invaders.”
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
“My goal in destroying the shrine is to declare that Taiwan belongs to China,” he said, adding that he was not afraid of prison or “being extradited to Japan by the Taiwanese separatists.”
Police on the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), where the shrine is located, said that they are on heightened alert and have increased patrols at the temple.
One resident said the locals hoped that the shrine, which is a historical site and scenic attraction, would not be politicized in the run-up to national elections in January.
“The shrine was not built for political reasons. The constant politicizing of the shrine is gravely misleading and erroneous,” they said.
Japanese Shinto priest Kenichi Sato, who rebuilt the shrine in 2015 and donated it to the county to thank Taiwanese for their support and assistance during the earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan in 2011, said that the shrine was originally built for religious reasons.
Built during the Japanese colonial period in 1939, the shrine had been damaged by typhoons over the years and left in a state of disrepair, he said.
Sato became involved in the shrine’s repair after young Paiwan locals asked Shinto officials in Japan to assist with its restoration.
Shrine manager Chen Chung-yuan (陳重源) said that the shrine still has religious meaning for some people and is a part of the county’s cultural history, as well as a scenic spot.
If the shrine were to be burned down it would bring immeasurable harm to the local Paiwan community and damage the community’s relationship with non-Paiwan people, he said.
Chen said that he contacted the police and immigration authorities when he learned of the threat.
Liu’s post was shared by more than 60,000 Japanese users on Twitter, with many urging Taiwanese to remain alert.
Last year, a 68-year-old Taiwanese man surnamed Chung (鍾) also threatened to burn the shrine to commemorate the 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident.
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Alex Tsai (蔡正元) had previously posted an article criticizing the Democratic Progressive Party for allowing it to be restored and called the shrine an insult to Aborigines.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated