Chill out and tomb sweep at home, Taiwan says amid virus fears
TAIPEI: Taiwan is promoting a “chill out” approach to next week’s important tomb-sweeping festival, telling people they should stay home as much as possible and make their offerings online, a novel step in its coronavirus control measures.
The tomb-sweeping, or Qingming, festival is one of the most important dates in the traditional lunar calendar, when people go to cemeteries to make offerings to their ancestors and ensure the graves are properly tended.
It is also a four-day weekend holiday for Taiwan, where many people take religious traditions seriously, increasing the potential for large crowds at a time when the government is urging social distancing.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Lin Ching-chi, the Interior Ministry’s director of civil affairs, said this year they were encouraging “chillout” tomb sweeping, in which people make their offerings online.
If they must go to the cemetery, he said, they should limit or space out their trips.
Lin said local governments were setting up websites for the virtual offerings.
“If you really want to meet your ancestors, do it online,” he added.
Some local government websites are asking people to input details of the deceased person to track them in the system, and are encouraging people to write their ancestors a message.
Virtual flowers and candles for ancestors can be offered with a few clicks.
Taiwan has kept it virus numbers low so far in comparison with its neighbours, not only by the early deployment of its first-rate medical system but also by using an often witty online public health campaign.
Premier Su Tseng-chang has used his Facebook page to post humorous messages with serious content about preventing the virus and what the government has been doing.
Taiwan has reported 252 cases so far and two deaths.