Huge crowds join annual religious procession on first day of Mazu pilgrimage.

April 11, 2021April 11, 2021 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment matsu, religion

After last year’s postponement and reduced numbers due to fear of a novel coronavirus epidemic, the first day of this year’s annual Dajia Mazu pilgrimage saw an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 people packed into the streets of Changhua County. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Yuan Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) went to Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung City Friday afternoon

Environment Marine and Fisheries

April 17, 2017April 17, 2017 Phillip Charlier 2 Comments bioluminescence, blue tears, matsu

[Picture: Lienchiang County Government] Pictures that went viral on the Internet showing the beauty of “blue tears” in the ocean around the Matsu Islands are actually a sign of an environmental crisis, according to sources cited in a report on Liberty Times Network. Between April and September, bioluminescent plankton emit a blue light, resulting in a phenomenon locals on the Matsu Islands call “blue tears.” The plankton, known to science as dinoflagellates, feed on nutrients in the water. While the