Tribute held on mainland for monk

Delegation for abbot who was committed to traditional culture blocked by Taiwan

The Chinese mainland held a tribute for Hsing Yun, founder of the Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, who was committed to promoting peace and reunification across the Taiwan Straits, at a temple he helped develop in Yixing in Jiangsu province on Sunday.

Upon the invitation of Fo Guang Shan, a 38-member mainland delegation had planned to travel to Taiwan to take part in mourning for the influential monk who died on Feb 5 at the age of 95.

But the trip, which was due to last from Saturday to Tuesday, was blocked by Democratic Progressive Party authorities on the island on grounds of "security concerns "over the visit and their belief that the mainland was engaging in "political manipulation".