Central Taiwan prepares for Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage

Central Taiwan prepares for Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage

2026-04-10

The Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage is about to set off this Sunday! The event takes the Mazu at the GongtianTemple in Tongxiao, Miaoli all the way to Beigang in Yunlin. The trip is full of rituals, including the smudging of the leading banner three days before departure. This year, registrations have setting a new record, surpassing 460,000 participants. The Mazu’s famous palanquin, known affectionately as the “Pink Supercar” is ready for the trip, and so are the localities it will grace. Among them is Tukuin Yunlin, which has set up service stations so that pilgrims can rest, wash up and regain the energy to follow the deity around Taiwan.

Temple staff and the censer master lead worshipers in prayer with incense. The leading banner is brought out and presented to the team, then hung on the pillar at the entrance to Gongtian Temple, marking the start of the Baishatun Mazu pilgrimage, which will set off on Sunday.

This century-old ceremony is held late at night three days before the actually pilgrimage starts. In the following three days, worshippers do a cleanse with bathing, and fasting.

Tuku in central Yunlin is a must-visit for the procession every year. As pilgrims gather in the town, there is a frenzy of preparations underway.

Chen Ying-hao
Cocoa farmer
During the pilgrimage, we let pilgrims use our customer parking lot as a lodging or camping area, regardless of whether they are walking or driving.

Su Shao-chi
Tuku Township
This is one of our service points for pilgrims, where campers have a space to set up their tents. There’s also indoor resting areas at Zhongzheng Assembly Hall.

The Tuku Township Office and local groups have set aside car-camping zones and rest areas to create 13 service stations with supplies and washing facilities. They expect to accommodate more than 5,000 pilgrims.

Chen Ter-kai
Tuku Mayor
We’re providing well-equipped bathrooms, shuttle busses and medical teams to take good care of the pilgrims.

This year, 460,000 people have registered for the pilgrimage, and local authorities say that about 1 million people will participate in some way or another. To meet demand for transport, additional train and bus services have been arranged on the Taiwan Railway, Taiwan High Speed Rail and by coach bus companies.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#mazu #culture #religion #hsr #basiatunmazu #wonderful #amazing

拱天宮完成"放頭旗"儀式為4/12白沙屯進香揭開序幕

2026-04-10

白沙屯媽祖徒步進香進入倒數，9日深夜完成"放頭旗"儀式，宣告年度盛事正式展開!今年報名人數突破46萬人再創新高，同時間，粉紅超跑沿途行經的鄉鎮也開始提前暖身，雲林土庫鎮總動員，打造友善補給站，提供住宿、洗浴，要讓香燈腳走得安心、住得舒服。

廟方人員及爐主，帶著信眾人手一炷香參拜。請出頭旗、交由進香掌頭旗成員，將頭旗掛在拱天宮門口龍柱上，為12日即將出發的白沙屯媽祖徒步進香，揭開序幕。

依照百年習俗，廟方會在進香前三天深夜，舉行"放頭旗"儀式，信眾也同步進入三天沐浴齋戒期，為進香暖身。

土庫鎮為雲林中心點，是每年白沙屯媽祖必經之路，香客即將到來，土庫鎮也全力備戰總動員!

[[可可莊園老闆陳盈豪]]
“原本顧客的停車場，到了進香期(間) ，我們一樣都開放出來，給香燈腳或是他們有，自己開車的(信徒) ，來做為他們的車宿區”

[[雲林土庫鎮秘書蘇紹箕]]
“這個是我們這次，友善香客小鎮的據點之一，提供給帳篷客可以來這邊駐紮，那還有那個中正集會所，那邊也有提供給我們香客做室內休憩的地方”

公所、地方團體，提供車宿區、休息空間，13個服務據點來補給、盥洗，預計可以提供超過五千名香燈腳休息空間。

[[雲林縣土庫鎮長陳特凱]]
“我們提供一些完善的衛浴設備，還有接駁車還有一些醫護團隊，妥善照顧我們這些香燈腳”

白沙屯媽進香，今年共有46萬人報名，地方預估，前後約會湧入百萬人朝聖。交通部也加開台鐵、高鐵、公路客運班次，全力備戰疏運。

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Security experts warn China is cultivating a fifth column for wartime sabotage

China’s growing ambitions to annex Taiwan means its tactics are also broadening. They’re no longer limited to military exercises. Security experts say China is cultivating a fifth column that involves recruiting people from temple associations, gangs and even rank-and-file soldiers. Once war breaks out, these people will no longer hide in the shadows. Instead, they will become saboteurs who will work to undermine Taiwanese society – from attacking power infrastructure to spreading rumors. Let’s find out more.

Xi Jinping
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The motherland must be unified and it will inevitably be unified. This is the historical conclusion drawn from the 70-year development of cross-strait relations and it is also an inevitable requirement for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitions to annex Taiwan are intensifying. His tactics range from military aircraft harassing Taiwan to military exercises surrounding the nation. He’s also actively cultivating a fifth column in Taiwan.

Shen Ming-shih
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In fact, the CCP is not only just trying to win people over with united front tactics. Ultimately, it hopes that the military will not resist. Its internal agents are organized into armies or bands of guerillas. When military actions begin, they will attack major internal targets. There may also be a small group of people who, at the beginning of the attack, will infiltrate and sabotage, such as destroying power infrastructure or releasing toxins so that it affects the troops’ morale or health. Or they can spread rumors. Broadly speaking, these people can be called a fifth column.

From gangsters to temple associations to junior military officers: all are fifth column recruitment targets.

Ho Cheng-hui
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They might even incite disgruntled people or criminals to do these things. Or they could tell you that our military has already collapsed or surrendered, conveying that it would be better to surrender than resist.

Even jewelry stores have assisted China to make contact with Taiwanese soldiers, prosecutors say, and have lured them with low-interest loans.

Wang Ting-yu
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When you borrow money, NT$5,000, NT$10,000, and accumulate it to a certain amount, he will tell you: It’s OK if you can’t pay it back, we’re all friends. This NT$50,000 sum can be waived. Just get hold of any document from the military to prove you are a soldier. I will tell the financial backers behind me that soldiers are usually short of money, so we can write off your debt of NT$50,000. If you don’t do this, they’ll expose your previous actions and you might have to pay a heavy price. You’ll have no choice but to submit to their demands.

When it comes to the fifth column, the pro-China China Unification Promotion Party is probably the group that is treated with most suspicion in Taiwanese society.

Chang An-le
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We are not a fifth column. We have made it very clear that we will step forward when the time comes to act as a bridge for peace across the Taiwan Strait, focusing on protecting ordinary citizens. It’s that simple.

Faced with a fifth column colluding with foreign forces, Taiwan’s national security can only be ensured by heightening people’s vigilance and strengthening an anti-infiltration defense network.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Children under seven may now receive nine regular checkups

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This child said that her mother lets her watch TV for 30 minutes on Fridays. Do doctors support limited screen time?

Chang Hung-yang
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It’s advised to use electronics for one hour a day at most, so it’s great that she limits it to 30 minutes, and only once a week. Using electronics for extended periods can not only cause vision problems, but can also cause some issues with language development.

Conversations between doctors and parents about children’s health are part of preventative healthcare. The Health Promotion Administration recently announced that checkups for children up to the age of seven would be increased from seven to nine, including growth tracking, physical examinations, and developmental assessment.

Chuang Jen-hsiang
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Checkups will be increased to nine from the original seven. One checkup is added each for the infancy and preschool periods, targeting these two critical ages.

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Children’s preventive healthcare is actually related to pediatric specialists, as they provide most of the services.

The new policy will help parents better understand their children’s growth and support a healthy Taiwan.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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The skin on this enormous new type of jicama can be peeled off by hand. It’s three times as large as the standard variety and has a finer texture, resembling a pear.

- It’s like a pear.
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- It really is like a pear. Just not as sweet.

Put some slices in a juicer with plenty of honey, blend it up, and you can get a refreshing juice for the summer.

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Since it has honey and the jicama itself isn’t that sweet, I think it’s pretty good.

Member of public
I suppose it’s all right. I’d say the jicama with the honey might need something else to blend the flavors together better.

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Kung Tai-wen
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Each one weighs about two-and-a-half kilos. At a supermarket, they currently sell for NT$49 per 0.6 kilograms. This variety has already been around for two years. Aside from the Taipei agricultural corporation, we also sell at supermarkets. Prices have been relatively stable over the past two years.

As jicama can last for a year without spoiling, the association said it’s often used with other foods, such as oden and meatballs to add texture, or blanched to use in cold salads. It can also be used in soup or stewed with pork ribs, making it an extremely versatile crop. However, it’s important to keep in mind that only the tuber is edible. The stem, leaves, pods, and seeds are all poisonous and should never be eaten.

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This demonstrates the vibrancy of Taiwan’s innovation and R&D, and the strong foundation for our industry. Technological innovation is an extremely important force that drives our industry forward. It’s also an important foundation that supports our country’s continued progress.

Innovation from 12 institutions and companies including ITRI, TSMC, and Hon Hai have helped Taiwan shine on the world stage once again, ranking it at No. 3 in the Top 100 Global Innovators Report for five years in a row, only behind Japan and the US.

Representatives came together at the awards ceremony, where they were recognized for their contributions.

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ITRI has been honored for the 10th time, ranking first among R&D institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. The institute focuses on integrated interdisciplinary innovation and has brought together the knowledge of 14 high-tech firms in the form of a license on transfer industry alliance, and keep patent trolls at bay. In addition, this year, ITRI has been a key supporter of the drone industry, taking advantage of the benefits of non-red supply chains to swiftly break into the US market.

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The strength of ITRI, we really see, is its ability to turn publicly funded research into commercially ready real-world technologies that can be used in the economy. One of the things that we track at Clarivate is the increasing difficulty of modern research and development and the need for interdisciplinarity, and ITRI really represents that as a capability for the Taiwanese economy.

By safeguarding the value of intangible assets ITRI hopes to let Taiwan’s industrial chains continue to benefit from the power of innovation and attract worldwide attention.

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Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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Xi Jinping
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The territory cannot be divided, the country cannot be thrown into disorder, the nation cannot be split apart. The broad trend of compatriots on both sides of the strait becoming closer, interacting more, and coming together will not change.

Cheng Li-wun
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That the Taiwan Strait will no longer be a focal point of potential conflict, nor become a chessboard for outside forces to intervene in. On the shared political foundation of adhering to the “1992 Consensus” and opposing Taiwan independence, we will make peaceful development across the strait irreversible, with harmonious coexistence at the core.

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This meeting between Xi and Cheng is nothing but a pre-written script. It’s a political show, an attempt by Beijing to use Cheng Li-wun’s voice to shape international perception into believing that Beijing can influence Taiwan’s political direction. The international community has also interpreted Cheng Li-wen’s cooperation as support for this false peace, which is in reality more of a surrender. This narrative supports Xi Jinping’s anti-independence, pro-unification line, and it’s sending a very misleading message to the world.

Chen Ming-chi
Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
One, the ROC and the PRC are not subordinate to the other. Two, Taiwan’s future must be decided by its people through democratic means. Three, China must immediately stop its harassment with military aircraft and vessels near Taiwan. These three points should’ve been clearly conveyed to Xi Jinping.

During her trip in China these past few days, Cheng has constantly made reference to the so-called “1992 Consensus.” But she conveniently did not mention a key part of the supposed cross-strait consensus, which is that each side of the strait agrees that there is one China, while leaving the definition of China up to different interpretations. Critics say that has made the consensus essentially an endorsement of Beijing’s “One China” framework. Cheng has repeatedly attempted to frame her visit as paving the way for peace, but critics say the only direction she is pushing for is toward China’s unification ambitions.

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