China is manipulating religious issues for political purposes

Religion is not a nationality Cheng Yong-rui The Taipei Times Friday, Jun 29, 2007

China has been acting strangely lately in terms of developing religious ties with Taiwan. Whenever a country acts against its staunch beliefs, we must be alert and wonder whether its government is up to something. Over the past few years, China has zealously held annual celebrations for divinities that are mostly worshipped by Taiwanese. Beijing has launched religious pilgrimages with the goal of attracting Taiwanese worshipers to visit shrines in China. China's motivation for such religious practices is multifaceted. On the one hand, attracting Taiwanese tourists means bringing in cash. On the other hand, this sort of religious exchange between average people in Taiwan and China is laced with political incentive. China is trying to forge a religious bond it can use to argue that China and Taiwan are one and must be unified as a nation.

China's enthusiastic support of religious activities runs counter to Communism. Since its establishment in 1949, the People's Republic of China has consistently trampled on freedom of religion. It has upheld the belief that religion is "the opium of the masses," and to this day only allows religion in a strictly state-controlled form and ruthlessly cracks down on religious groups. While China continues to oppress the right to personal religious beliefs, it is also suddenly encouraging celebrations of Matsu, the God of Medicine and, more recently, the Birth-Registry Lady.

It is clear that this sudden change must benefit them and it would seem to be specifically targeted at making an argument for unification with Taiwan. The divinities on the state-sponsored list happen to be highly respected among Taiwanese. Regardless of religious similarities between China and Taiwan, nationality and religious beliefs are not the same thing. Before China continues wasting its time on manipulating religious issues for political purposes, China might consider one hard fact; Muslims who travel abroad to make the pilgrimage to Mecca don't think that makes them Saudi Arabians. Cheng Yong-rui Tamsui, Taipei County This story has been viewed 228 times.