Seventh month offerings near National Day banner

Zhao (transliterated), 75, a manager at a nearby coffeeshop, told Shin Min that the prayers were believed to have been organised by regular customers in the area and were not related to the coffee shop. Residents and workers from nearby premises would usually come to the area to pray.

“Back then, nobody thought there was anything inappropriate. We just thought they were holding the prayers in an open space. It was only after someone posted the photos online that we realised it did look inappropriate,” she said.

Zhao said she was unsure whether the organisers had obtained a permit, but the town council had contacted the coffee shop.

“I’ll try to find the customer and get him to liaise with the town council to resolve the matter,” she said.

Yang (transliterated), 68, a nearby resident, said he passed by at around 5pm on August 15 and saw the large-scale prayer ceremony, but did not pay much attention to it at the time. After seeing the photos, however, he described the sight as “inauspicious”.

Another resident, Xie (transliterated), 73, said the organisers might not have realised that the offerings table happened to be facing the MPs’ portraits, and believed it was simply an innocent mistake.

Offerings table has since been removed

Zhao revealed that the prayer ceremony had been held at a different location in previous years.

She said the organisers usually held the ceremony at a nearby open space, but an event was being held there this year and large balloons had been put up. They therefore moved to another open space.

When Shin Min visited the area, the prayer ceremony had ended and the offerings table had been removed. Only some incense sticks remained on the ground.

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