Parents concerned after school offers treats for washing Buddha figure

Parents concerned after school offers treats for washing Buddha figure

2026-05-22

An elementary school in Pingtung recently hosted an event at which children lined up to pour water over a Buddha statue and pay respects, after which they were rewarded with treats. But parents were shocked after seeing the photos afterward, asking how their school seemed to become a worship venue.

Young students line up in a school courtyard. If you look closely at the front of the line, there’s a religious statue, the students take turns stepping forward to pay their respects. The sight left parents shaken.

Parent
Pingtung
At first I just saw a figurine and thought, “What on earth is that?” I don’t know why, but it seemed to be some kind of religious event. A lot of kids were lining up.

A parent who went to drop something off for their child witnessed the scene firsthand. After the students finished at the statue, they could go off to the side to get a cookie. Feeling that the playground had become a temple courtyard, she was upset.

Parent
Pingtung
Kids don’t know what they’re actually doing. They just know that if they participate and pour out water, they can get candy and treats. Of course they swarmed to line up like that! Plus, what if a kid is allergic to the treats they’re handing out?

This was at an elementary school in Pingtung City. As photos from the event began to circulate among parents, many were upset that the school didn’t communicate with them beforehand, exposing their kids to a religious practice without warning.

Chou Chih-jung
School director of student affairs
This was a moral education activity for Mother’s Day. We didn’t force anyone to participate. The goal was just to teach the students about having a good heart, doing good deeds, and speaking good words.

In response to the parental backlash, the Pingtung County Department of Education intervened to investigate. They said that while it was intended as a character-building exercise, schools must remain neutral, respect freedom of religion, and communicate better with parents to avoid misunderstandings.

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#school #religion #Pingtung #controversy #education #Buddha #Buddhism #churchandstate

國小生膜拜浴佛領餅乾家長:校園怎變宗教場所?

2026-05-22

屏東一所國小日前舉辦活動，讓孩子對著一尊佛像，進行膜拜和浴佛儀式，完成後就能領到餅乾，但家長事後看到照片，相當震驚，質疑校園為何會變成宗教場所。

校園廣場，小朋友依序排好隊，仔細看在隊伍最前方，竟然擺著一尊神像，學生輪流上前進行膜拜，這畫面讓家長看了超震驚。

[[學生家長]]
“只看到一個小玩偶，我當下就覺得這是什麼東西，就不知所以的一個類似像宗教活動，很多小朋友在排隊”

有家長去學校幫孩子送東西，正好看到這一幕，小朋友膜拜完後，就能去旁邊領取餅乾，校園彷彿變成宗教道場，家長相當氣憤。

[[學生家長]]
“因為小孩不知道這活動是什麼，他只知道我參加，我澆完水，我就可以領糖果餅乾，那小朋友一定是一窩蜂去排隊啊，另外我覺得發糖果餅乾，萬一過敏之類的”

這是屏東市某國小，舉辦的一場活動，活動照片在家長群組間流傳，不少家長認為，校方沒事前溝通，讓孩子無預警下，接觸特定宗教信仰活動。

[[校方學務主任周志榮]]
“這是配合母親節感恩，還有品格教育的活動，我們沒有強迫小朋友每個人都要參加，要教導做好心、做好事跟說好話這個部分”

面對家長質疑，屏東縣府教育處介入了解，表示這是指導學生的品格教育活動，但也請學校應該秉持教育中立，尊重信仰自由的立場，與家長溝通，避免產生誤解。

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Many visitors to Thailand are sure to visit the famous Mae Klong Railway Market to see the vendors hurriedly collect their wares from the tracks to get out of the way of an oncoming train. But did you know that Pingtung used to have a similar market?, historian Chiu Tsai-yen and Taiwan Film Culture Co got together to document this page in Taiwan’s history.

Here at the Mae Klong Railway Market in Thailand, vendors do business right up next to the tracks. When a train comes, everyone gives way just enough for it to pass. But did you know that Pingtung also used to have a market just like it?

This documentary footage from 30 years ago shows a market in Pingtung’s North District. When a train comes, the vendors bring their wares inside, then bring them back out again when it passes. Ms. Yang, wearing a track jacket as she pushes her Hakka rice cake stall back into place, still sells in the same market all these years later.

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Oh, there, there! That’s me. Taisugar’s train carrying sugarcane was running. If I heard a whistle, I’d hurry over there.

Fishmonger Mr. Chang used to bring his son with him to work. Now that the son is grown, he followed in his father’s footsteps to also become a fishmonger.

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I was still little then, around second grade. When the train was coming it would sound a horn and we’d quickly move the stall out of the way.

Historian Chiu Tsai-yen and Taiwan Film Culture Co filmed the area in front of Taisugar’s Pingtung factory before it closed to preserve the unique scenes of that era.

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When I was little, I loved those sugar trains. When I saw one, I’d go running after it. Two or three years before they stopped, I started documenting them. Until they actually stopped running in 1997, I systematically documented each route, covering every inch.

Looking at the market now, you can still see some traces of the old railway track. Although there are no longer trains carrying sugarcane through here, the memories live on in the minds of the locals.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Alishan artist creates leather workshop, homestay to share her Tsou culture

Leye Village in Chiayi’s beautiful Alishan has a leatherwork studio founded by local artist Chiu Mei-hui. She’s passionate about promoting handmade leatherwork and allows visitors to try out carving for themselves. Chiu’s assistant is none other than her 10-year-old daughter. After playing in the workshop ever since she was one year old, she was destined to fall in love with the traditional Tsou craft. The family also runs a log-cabin homestay for visitors to experience their culture on a deeper level.

Rhythmic tapping echoes through the workshop as focused visitors hammer into leather. Some are carving animal patterns, or maybe English letters and numbers. Each piece is a unique keepsake.

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Most of our prospective principals and teachers are ethnically Han people from the lowlands. They rarely get an opportunity like this to immerse in indigenous culture.

- I started when I was around five years old.

With her youthful face, she demonstrates leather carving with a strength and precision that’s beyond her years. The secret behind 10-year-old Pei-chi’s skill is that she’s the daughter of Chiu Mei-hui, the artist behind this studio in Alishan’s Leye Village.

Chiu Mei-hui
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Ever since she was a little over a year old, this was basically her toy box. Every day, she’d dump all the tools out and hammer at random. She kept playing like that, and eventually I said, “That’s your play area. “

Lin Pei-chi
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It’s fun and relaxing. It lets me channel my emotions.

Chiu Mei-hui’s journey into the world of leather working was also an unexpected blessing.

Chiu Mei-hui
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I picked up leather carving while I was caring for the kids. I was just at home and the village happened to start a class. I was bored and decided to check it out. I didn’t expect that as I kept going, I’d develop a passion for it.

Beyond helping tourists connect with the land through leatherwork, they wondered if they could take the experience even further. The family therefore decided to create a homestay as well, all from scratch. The Tsou style is immediately apparent in these cozy log cabins. Drawing back the curtains reveals layers of lush mountains, like a painting just outside the window.

Chiu Mei-hui
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The decorations in the rooms use a traditional indigenous color palette. My husband built the entire place by hand. We also offer indigenous-style barbecue for our guests. So while offering different things like accommodation, food, and activities, we can also share some of our traditional Tsou stories.

Every year from April to June is firefly season. Mihu Trail just off the Alishan Highway is known as an easy place to see them.

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You can find the Mihu Trail at the 65.8km mark. It’s a super easy place to see fireflies. You don’t even have to walk after getting out of the car. If you’re feeling extra lazy, you can just roll down your window and look.

A trip to Alishan is the perfect escape from the daily grind, inviting travelers to slow down and reconnect with nature.

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Chen Chih-tung
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The fish is free now. No one would try to call it anymore. It won’t have to suffer. I tried “Find My iPhone,” and that should make the phone vibrate. I wondered if the fish felt that in the guts.

Alas, the phone no longer functions. But the fact that it kept its shape after more than eight months inside a fish is already quite a miracle. Mr. Chen says he’ll be keeping it as a memento.

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And speculation is on about adjustments to a potential US$14 billion arms sale for Taiwan. US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering the deal, and also willing to speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te over the phone. But the acting US Secretary of the Navy says that arms sales will be put on pause, as the US is focusing on preparedness for military operations related to the US-Iran War. Taiwan’s Presidential Office says it has not been notified of any changes, but the KMT is already blaming the DPP. Let’s hear more.

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I always feel that there’s so much energy and there’s no other place in the world that has so much semiconductors… very, very small area.

In conversation with the CommonWealth Magazine in Taipei, AMD CEO Lisa Su talked business trends in AI and alliances with Taiwanese players. She praised their culture of friendly competition.

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Everybody is so friendly. Everyone loves each other, even if they’re competitors—it doesn’t matter. I think, we grew up together. Ten years ago, people didn’t care so much about semiconductors. Our friends and colleagues are so, so successful because the time is right.

On May 21, AMD announced that it plans to invest more than US$10 billion, or roughly NT$320 billion, across Taiwan’s chip ecosystem, to scale advanced packaging manufacturing for next generation AI infrastructure. At the forum, Su said that AMD is very happy with TSMC as a partner.

Lisa Su
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Su also expressed excitement for the AMD’s forthcoming AI platform, and optimism for the future of AI, saying that it’s all just getting started.

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Su was also asked about the company’s view on the Chinese market. On Wednesday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in an interview with CSBC that his company has largely conceded the Chinese market for high-end chips.

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We’re also not counting on sales of our most advances chips to China. It’s a dynamic market. There are US export regulations as well as Chinese regulations.

US companies including AMD are strengthening their partnership with Taiwan amid ongoing US-China tech rivalry.

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A boat cuts through the waves of the Pacific Ocean and happens onto a group of whales surfacing from the sea and blasting mist into the air. Wow. This huge pod of short-finned pilot whales was spotted off the coast of Hualien on Thursday, the first one of the season. Tourists were delighted.

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There’s a better chance of seeing them in late summer or early autumn. This last time, we saw more than 50 pilot whales. There were mothers with their calves. And what’s more, we were lucky to catch them spyhopping.

Short-finned pilot whales have stocky bodies and rounded foreheads. They are also commonly known as “blackfish” despite being part of the dolphin family. They mostly live in the deep ocean waters. Whale-watching tour operators say only six boats encountered the species last year, and their first sighting didn’t occur until August. This year they are unusually early and numerous.

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A 30-year-old engineer in Taipei has died four days after taking part in a boxing tournament for beginners. The man, surnamed Chen, had been learning boxing for about a year, and during the match sustained multiple heavy blows to the head. He was able to seek medical treatment on his own after the competition, but later fell into a coma that he never woke up from. Let’s hear more about the case.

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Mr. Chen came to this boxing gym in Songshan District to compete. After a technical knockout, he felt unwell and went to the hospital. Four days later, he was pronounced dead.

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In cases like this, at first, the symptoms might not be serious or obvious. But they gradually get worse. The most concerning development clinically is delayed brain hemorrhage.

Police have referred two suspects for investigation on suspicion of negligent homicide: that’s the gym operator, and Mr. Chen’s opponent, a 27-year-old man surnamed Hsu. Mr. Hsu was shocked and saddened by the incident, allegedly saying that he hadn’t meant to beat Mr. Chen to death. Whether the gym bears responsibility, and whether there were shortcomings in relation to safety inspections and oversight remains to be seen.

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

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