Taipei City Government

On June 15, Mayor Ko Wen-je arrived at Longshan Temple in Wanhua District to express his gratitude to the temple’s board for complying with Taipei’s incense reduction policy.
Longshan Temple, which took the initial step in reducing the number of incense burners from 21 to 7 in 2005, decided to further reduce the number to 3 this year. The board also agreed on the comprehensive use of eco-friendly incense.
During his address, the mayor noted that there are many talks recently about PM 2.5. He noted that many of the particles created by burning incense have impacts on the human body.
He noted that the city’s long-term policy of reducing incense use and paper-money burning is not to eradicate age-old practices, but to preserve tradition while at the same time moving forward with helping Taipei City improve air quality and protect public health.
In light of the approaching Ghost Festival, the Department of Civil Affairs reminds the public to reduce paper-money consumption and, if possible, adopt the practice of collective burning. A possible alternative is to offer rice or ‘merit’ in place of paper money to lower the impact upon the environment.