Pro-China Taiwanese Buddhist Master Hsing Yun Tricks Again  

August 4, 2010

    In Taiwan, Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said Tuesday he has made up his mind to run in the Nov. 27 Kaohsiung municipality mayoral election as an independent. It was the first time that Yang publicly confirmed his intention to throw his hat in the ring since he lost the DPP primary in early May to Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu.

    An important reason for Yang's decision to challenge the DPP and split the DPP's support base in Kaohsiung was strong lobbying from the influential Pro-China Buddhist Master Hsing Yun. Hsing Yun is an experienced Taiwan-based political campaign lobbyer and a self-proclaimed Buddhist master.

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Buddhist Master Hsing Yun enjoys talking to young Chinese women.

    Born and bred in China, the 83-year-old Buddhist Master Hsing Yun spent his last 60 years living in Taiwan. During his first to fourth decades' stay in Taiwan, Buddhist Master Hsing Yun was anti-China. But, during his fifth and sixth decades' stay in Taiwan, Hsing Yun was pro-China and anti-DPP (the main local Taiwanese political party). It remains unknown as to why Hsing Yun shifted his political faith from anti-China to pro-China blatantly.

    Nonetheless, three things are obvious and well known. First, Hsing Yun was, and is, the most politicized Buddhist monk in Taiwan, and is regarded as a political figure instead of a religious leader. Second, Hsing Yun is always a follower of dictatorship, being faithful to the autocratic Taiwan-based KMT regime from 1949 to the late 1980s and to the Chinese Communist Party after the early 1990s. Third, Hsing Yun is notorious for his unconcealed support for China's nationalism and open disrespect for Taiwan's democracy, as substantiated in an arrogant comment he made, i.e. "there is no Taiwanese person in Taiwan, as all the people living in Taiwan are Chinese".