Links, Compromise and Reunification in Hearts of Taiwanese

Taiwan Visitors Worship Goddess on Mainland

2,000 pilgrims from the Dajia Zhenlan Temple in Taichung, Taiwan Province burned incense for the sea goddess Mazu at the Mazu temple in Meizhou Tuesday. These pilgrims are unable to fly directly from Taiwan to the mainland so they must go through Hong Kong.

There are old ladies more than eighty years old who have problems walking and heart conditions in the group of pilgrims. Was it not for their faith to keep them going, it is doubtful that many could have made this difficult journey.

In October 1987, seventeen directors of the Taichung Dajia Zhenlan Temple, the biggest Mazu temple in Taiwan, made the trip to Meizhou in the Fujian province via Japan to search for their roots and pay homage to the goddess Mazu, causing a huge uproar in Taiwan. To date, there have been more than 1 million Taiwanese visitors who have come to Meizhou to pay homage to Mazu. This time, five statues of gods, including Matsu, have returned home together. Not surprisingly, the most people in thirteen years have attended the largest cross-strait pilgrimage ever.

The cry for greater exchanges grows louder from all groups in Taiwan, in contrast to the local authorities conservative attitude and rigid manners. The people of Taiwan hope that cross-strait tensions will alleviate but the new leaders of Taiwan continue to shy away from the "one China" principle and have even used the ridiculous phrase "Taiwan's status has not been determined," causing cross-strait relations to enter a deadlock hard to break.

91-Year-Old Man Worships Mazu

The people of Taiwan look forward to opening direct commercial, postal and shipping links across the Taiwan Strait soon but the Taiwan authorities have set up layers and layers of barriers. First, the solemnly promised "three small links" were shelved and then the Mazu disciples prayers for a "direct religious air route" were unanswered, dashing the hopes of the Taiwanese again and again. On the other hand, after Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh's planned trip to visit Xiamen was rejected, Xiamen Mayor Zhu Yayan's reciprocal visit to Kaohsiung also encountered difficulties. There are many people in Taiwan who question the Taiwan authorities' sincerity.

Although the Taiwan authorities have set up barriers again, the Taiwanese people have broken through these obstacles to visit their family on the motherland and tour China. Around the same time when the Taiwanese made their pilgrimage to Fujian, Taiwan's "New Party," leaders of Taiwan's media industry, a Kuomintang delegation have all visited Beijing. More than 400 youths from Beijing and Taiwan also recently held a large-scale cultural exchange activity on the Great Wall. Taiwanese businessmen are very optimistic about business opportunities after China and Taiwan join the WTO and it is reflected in the new wave of investments into China. Taiwan's investments into China have grown year after year.