DPP authorities obstruct mainland delegation's trip to Taiwan to mourn Master Hsing Yun: spokesperson

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland delegation was unable to go to Taiwan to pay tribute to Master Hsing Yun due to obstruction from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, a mainland spokesperson said Saturday.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland has attached great importance to the passing of Master Hsing Yun, founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order in Taiwan. Master Hsing Yun passed away on Feb. 5 in Taiwan.

At the invitation of Fo Guang Shan, a 38-member delegation comprised of personnel from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, the National Religious Affairs Administration, the Buddhist Association of China and relevant departments of Jiangsu Province had planned to travel to Taiwan to mourn Master Hsing Yun from Saturday to Tuesday, according to Zhu.

However, the trip could not take place due to the obstruction of the DPP authorities, Zhu said.

Zhu pointed out that the DPP authorities, in disregard of basic humanitarianism, flagrantly rejected the delegation's entry to Taiwan, making the ceremonies to remember Master Hsing Yun incomplete. The acts of the DPP authorities severely hurt the feelings of the believers of Fo Guang Shan, and would find no support, Zhu added.

The mainland will pay respect to Master Hsing Yun on Sunday at the temple he helped develop in Yixing of Jiangsu Province.