Police in Changhua County earlier this month arrested a man in New Taipei City for allegedly selling statues borrowed from Matsu (媽祖) temples.
Lukang Township (鹿港) police said they on Nov. 12 arrested a 34-year-old man surnamed Hsu (許) in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) for allegedly selling a statue borrowed from Lukang Tianhou Temple.
Police were alerted after a buyer became suspicious of the statue purchased for NT$10,000 on a Web site for auctioning secondhand deity statues and other religious items.
Photo courtesy of a reader
The buyer told police that when he met Hsu, he said the statue was abandoned and not from a temple currently in operation.
However, the buyer said he was suspicious because the figure appeared to be recently used with a buildup of incense smoke on it.
After finding the name of Lukang Tianhou Temple imprinted on the statue’s outer robe, he said he called the temple, where temple officials confirmed that the statue belonged to them, adding that it is known as a “guest” Matsu statue, which can be “borrowed” for festivals or to celebrate a family event, then returned after the “residency period” is over, which is usually three days.
The buyer returned the statue to the temple and reported the incident to the Lukang Police Precinct on Nov. 10.
Police said that Hsu admitted borrowing the statue from the temple on Nov. 3 and listing it for sale online.
Hsu told police that he also borrowed a Sufuwangye (蘇府王爺) statue from Lukang Fengtian Temple and sold it online for NT$10,000.
Hsu faces fraud and embezzlement charges, police official Chang Sheng-sheng (張勝甥) said, adding that investigators are seeking to determine whether Hsu had any accomplices.
Lukang Tianhou Temple secretary-general Liu Chia-wen (劉家汶) said that worshipers can apply to borrow “guest” Matsu statues for free for private events.
“This is the first time we had a person apply for a statue using another person’s identity, and then sell it in an online auction,” Liu said.
The temple would now require two forms of identification from anyone applying to borrow one of the statues, he said.
The incident has attracted interest from the public to borrow “guest” Matsu statues, which are not the main Matsu statue of a temple, but usually among the secondary deities worshiped.
He said that people or local temples or shrines cannot apply to take out a specific statue, as the statue they would receive is chosen through a divination process.
“People usually go to their town’s major temple to ‘invite’ a god or goddess statue when having celebrations, such as a wedding, settling into a new home or opening a new store. It is an important tradition, and still observed by people in Lukang,” Liu said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
RSS