TAIPEI – On January 13, Taiwan will hold elections for a new government. These elections will set the course for Taiwan’s future relationship with the government of the People’s Republic of China, based in Beijing. But the date of the elections coincides with certain beliefs surrounding the popular Chinese goddess Mazu (媽祖), which Beijing reportedly hopes to use to disrupt Taiwan’s electoral process.
In October, The Wild Hunt reported on the construction of a new shrine to Mazu in Hong Kong, as well as rumors the Chinese government might be planning to use Mazu as a means to influence worshipers in their choice of Taiwan’s future government. In February 2023, for example, the leader of the Taiwan Mazu Fellowship, an extensive network of temples, held discussions with Song Tao, the head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing. Chinese state media reported that their talks centered on exploring the potential role of Mazu in fostering a sense of “one family” across both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
“The United Front Work Department, the Communist Party branch with the job of boosting China’s influence abroad,” The Economist reported in June 2023, “views the goddess as a tool to win Taiwanese hearts and minds.”
Estimates suggest that some 10 million are devoted to Mazu’s worship in Taiwan, making the goddess the island’s most well-recognized and adored deity. The adoration of Mazu is connected to a regional syncretic spirituality that often aligns cosmic timelines with political events. The Taiwanese election, occurring a month before the Chinese New Year on February 10th, coincides with the transition to the Year of the Dragon, a cycle celebrated every 12 years. In Chinese legends, the dragon symbolizes good luck, protection, and intelligence as well as transformation and restlessness, often heralding significant structural changes. An illustrative example is the Year of the Dragon in 1976, which was marked by Mao Zedong’s death and the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution.
Mazu, also known as Tin Hau, is a sea goddess revered in Chinese folk religion and Daoism. Her divine presence safeguards fishermen and sailors, guaranteeing their well-being and providing favorable weather, and plentiful catches. Worship of Tin Hau is prevalent in coastal areas and among numerous fishing communities across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and various regions in Southeast Asia.
Additionally, immigrants who sought to express gratitude for her protective influence during their journey to America have established several temples dedicated to Tin Hau on the West Coast of the United States.
The goddess has many titles, including Princess of Numinous Grace, Illuminating Princess of Heaven who Protects the Nation, and Maternal Ancestor.
The Baishatun Mazu pilgrimage in Taiwan from February 12th to February 20th, 2023 attracted over 110,000 people to accompany the Mazu statue from the Baishatun Mazu Temple on a procession around the town. Along the route, an unending line of devotees followed the statue, creating a spectacular scene. In the photos, we can see an endless line of people crawling under the palanquin, as well as locals welcoming Mazu’s arrival with cheers and fireworks [Photo Credit: Stefsun318 – CCA-SA 4.0]
Mazu’s worship is tremendously popular in Taiwan, which maintains a tense profile in regional and global politics. Taiwan is an island located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. Although it is officially called “the Republic of China,” its territory is claimed by the People’s Republic of China. This situation has existed since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, when the PRC’s ruling Chinese Communist Party took control of the mainland and the ROC government, ruled by the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) party, retreated to Taiwan. Although the PRC considers the island’s government illegitimate, Taiwan operates as a separate and self-governing democracy with its own government, military, and constitution. Taiwan’s democracy is prized by its citizens and its civil society is often ranked as the most open and free in Asia.
Ironically, in the current elections, Beijing prefers its old rivals in the KMT to the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party, which it has tried to cast as a party of “dangerous separatists” whose re-election could lead to war, according to Reuters. KMT, on the other hand, supports a closer relationship with the PRC.
Thirteen countries recognize Taiwan as sovereign. The United States adheres to a One-China Policy, which acknowledges the PRC as the sole legitimate Chinese government, but it maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan that includes support for peaceful resolutions of differences with the PRC.
Attempts by the PRC to use Mazu to influence Taiwan’s election centers around pilgrimages across the Taiwan Straits focused on the worship of Mazu. These religious trips are funded by Beijing, and the pilgrims visit Chinese Community Party (CCP) establishments and state-sanctioned worship sites and temples. Five Taiwan Mazu temple associations have contacts with six Chinese counterparts, all of which are run by the Chinese administration. At least 20,000 people from Taiwan have participated in these pilgrimages over the last six years.
Statue of Lin Mo Niang, the mortal form of Mazu, in Park [Photo Credit: Pbdragonwang – CCA-SA 3.0]
Chinese state media seemingly affirmed the plan to use Mazu by noting that such exchange programs play a “key role” in the “peaceful reunification” of Taiwan, as reported by the Taipei Times.
In October, Buddhist leaders and Mazu priests held a religious ceremony in a temple in Taiwan, chanting “We wish for Taiwan to be a blessed island, not an island with military arsenals … not to become an island of battlefields.”
Reuters reported in December that it had seen multiple documents provided by Taiwanese security officials detailing “how CCP officials tried to build ties with religious establishments with inducements such as subsidised trips to China. Some of them spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters.”
While China is officially an atheist nation, the nation has used its Religious Affairs Administration to weaponize religious beliefs of any faith. “The administration is overseen by the CCP’s United Front Work Department, a network of groups that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has described as a ‘magic weapon’ to bolster Beijing’s reach abroad,” reports Reuters.
The Chinese Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a government agency in Taiwan responsible for overseeing and coordinating policies and cross-strait relations. The MAC said that Taiwan has increased its monitoring of such trips but is not blocking them.
“Chang Chien-Huang, who manages a Mazu temple in a Taipei suburb, told reporters he had been invited to China on religious exchanges that saw Chinese officials join him for banquets with alcohol,” The Taipei Times also reported. The officials saw these trips as opportunities for China to recruit sympathizers. Chang has declined to participate in future pilgrimages, despite continued invitations.
Meanwhile, a trip to a CCP-sanctioned Mazu temple on China’s Meizhou Island was canceled in October. The temple responded that Taiwan had used “every possible means to create difficulties” and that preventing such pilgrimages showed “disrespect” to the gods.
Beijing officials denied involvement in religious propaganda, and were quoted saying “Surely Mazu is not an agent of the Communist Party?”
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