The Biyun Chan Temple () was originally a century old Buddhist temple but was taken away and became a shrine for

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

. The former resident nun managed to regained ownership of the temple in 2019 and trying to restore the Buddhist temple. The temple is located in Ershui Township,

Changhua County Changhua County ( Mandarin Pinyin: ''Zhānghuà Xiàn''; Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴ Hsien⁴''; Hokkien POJ: ''Chiang-hòa-koān'' or ''Chiong-hòa-koān'') is the smallest county on the main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth small ...

, Republic of China.

History

The century old Buddhist temple was constructed in 1920 and served as a place of worship for local Buddhist community. The temple hired Wei Ming-jen to build an expansion, but later lost the building to him due to a property rights dispute. He forcefully expelled the Buddhist nuns residing in the temple and converted it into a shrine for the

with the name Patriotic Education Base of Socialist National Thought in Taiwan Province of the People's Republic of China. He then covered the temple with the flags of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the

. He also hung up portraits of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

and Xi Jinping. On 11 September 2018, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Changhua County Government held a review meeting to decide on the fate of the temple. On 21 September 2018, List of county magistrates of Changhua, Changhua County Magistrate Wei Ming-ku ordered that illegal additions on the property be demolished. The demolition process will start from cutting the water and electricity supply to the building on the same day. The demolition day is expected to be on 26 September 2018. On 25 September 2018, around 20 people wearing the uniform of People's Liberation Army showed up at the shrine to show support for Wei. After the electricity was cut to the building, Wei used a Engine-generator, portable generator to continue broadcasting the March of the Volunteers, national anthem of the PRC. On 26 September 2018, demolition works began to tear down the building. There were 14 heavy machinery present on the day to do the work. The work was supervised by Changhua County Deputy Commissioner Lin Ming-yu () which he ordered to start at 10:05 a.m. The demolition work costed NT$4.9 million in which it would be borne by Wei's sister who owned the rights of the property. It also cost NT$300,000 for the police forces before and during the demolition works. A day after the demolition work began, Wei retreated to Hong Kong. However, on 1 October 2018 evening, he returned to Taiwan to attend the National Day of the People's Republic of China held by the Patriot Alliance Association ().

Architecture

The temple covered a total area of 2,500 m² with the original temple remains cover only 185 m².

References

{{Reflist 1920 establishments in Taiwan 2018 disestablishments in Taiwan Demolished buildings and structures in Taiwan Buildings and structures demolished in 2018

History

Architecture

See also

References