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Elaborate Mazu religious processions often attract thousands of worshippers in Taiwan

By Tessa Wong & Joy Chang

BBC News, Singapore & Taipei

Every year, Chang Ke-chung journeys from his home in Taiwan to China to carry out a sacred duty.

He worships Mazu, a sea goddess with millions of followers in Taiwan and ethnic Chinese communities around the world. For them, a pilgrimage to Mazu's home temple in Meizhou in southern China is an essential act of faith.

"We feel we are Mazu's children, so it's like we are accompanying our mother to visit her ancestral home," said Mr Chang, who leads a Mazu temple in Taiwan.

"I've been to China so many times now that every time I go there, it's like I'm home, I'm in my own country."

Such sentiments delight Beijing but worry Taipei. They put Taiwanese worshippers at the centre of a political tug-of-war, especially with presidential and legislature elections coming up in just two weeks.

Many in Taiwan worship Mazu or other folk deities with roots in China. Religious communities in Taiwan and China share deep and emotional ties, often paying visits to each other's temples or taking part in religious processions together.