Mazu belief helps mediate disputes

Yang recalled one difficult case where a man had lied and made inconsistent statements.

The mediation team took him to the Mazu Ancestral Temple, which evoked a more solemn and sacred atmosphere. In this environment, the man started to tell the truth.

Since the launch of the mediation center in 2019, about 200 cases involving family, marriage, land and labor disputes have been resolved. Many were long-standing and a challenge to resolve, even for experienced mediators, he said.

Last year, a similar mediation center was established at a police station in Putian's Xianyou county. Yang said they plan to promote similar mediation in villages to resolve grassroots disputes.

Lin Jinzan, chairman of the Mazu Ancestral Temple's board of directors in Meizhou, said the spirit of the goddess has value in both the past and present. Efforts will be made to improve the influence of Mazu culture and promote its inheritance.

The goddess is considered a guardian of the lives of fishermen and is widely respected in Fujian, Taiwan and overseas, and lies at the heart of numerous beliefs and customs, including religious ceremonies and folk practices.

In May, thousands of devotees from both sides of the Taiwan Strait gathered in Meizhou to celebrate the 1,063rd anniversary of the birth of Mazu and pray for peace.

Locals have even given Mazu a virtual ID number so a plane ticket can be purchased when her statue is taken overseas for ceremonies.

In 2019, when the statue was flown from Xiamen in Fujian to Thailand, it caused a stir among netizens when they discovered that an economy seat was purchased with the virtual ID.