Baishatun Gongtian Temple also insists on holding the Mazu pilgrimage; folk religion expert: the responsibility should not be shifted onto the deities, it should be left to public health and epidemic prevention experts to decide

At a time when the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic is raging, Dajia Jenn Lann Temple's insistence on holding the Mazu pilgrimage has caused social tension, and the Beigang pilgrimage of the Baishatun Mazu from Tongxiao Gongtian Temple has also drawn much attention. Gongtian Temple director-general Chen Chun-fa said that the Baishatun Mazu walking pilgrimage has a 190-year history and was held as usual even during SARS; currently 33,000 devotees have signed up, and the temple will strengthen epidemic prevention measures, but unless the government orders it cancelled, Baishatun's century-old tradition will not be interrupted.

Facing the epidemic prevention controversy sparked by the Mazu pilgrimage, Mazu studies scholar Lin Mao-hsien believes that responsibility should not be shirked onto the deities, but outsiders should also not judge purely by feeling. "If epidemic prevention experts believe there is a risk, then the event should be postponed; the deities in their compassion will surely understand the devotees' helplessness. If the risk of cluster infection is not great, the original plan should be maintained," he said, adding that it should be left to public health professionals to decide.