Animal rights activists unsuccessfully tried to stop the sacrifice of a fattened pig in honor of Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian.
According to the Taipei Times, Chen was supposed to have vowed three years ago that if he was elected president he would sacrifice a pig. In order to placate critics, however, he substituted a pig made out of rice.
This time around, though, Chen attended the Hakka Yimin Cultural Festival in Hsinchu. The Hakka have a tradition of holding contests to fatten up pigs for sacrifice. This year the winning pig topped out at 720 kg. The larger the pig, the more luck it supposedly brings in the coming year after being sacrificed.
Animal rights activists maintain such traditions are cruel, usually involving the force feeding of the animals. President Chen, however, defended the right of the Hakka to follow their traditions,
As a part of Hakka culture, it cannot be vilified, distorted or insulted by any individual or group. . . People can oppose what I say and what I do. But that opposition cannot spill over against Hakka culture and customs.
Chen is the first national politician to participate in the Yimin pig sacrifice.
Sources:
President backs pig sacrifice as a part of Hakka culture. Jewel Huang, Taipei Times, August 18, 2003.
‘Appalling plight’ of super-fat pigs. The BBC, August 8, 2003.