Taoist monks to attend village festival on peace mission
TWENTY Taoist monks from Tibet, Thailand and Burma will be brought in next month to help wipe out evil and restore world peace at a village festival in Yuen Long.
The Ta Chiu festival is held by local villagers every 10 years - an occasion when rural settlers thank gods and ask for celestial protection.
This year's festival, which falls on Christmas Day, will feature a day-long parade and prayers for world peace.
The monks have been invited to join 100 local Taoists.
A festival organiser and rural leader, Tang Nai-man, said: ''Man has suffered a lot in recent years. There have been wars, killings, floods, drought and disasters of almost all kinds in many parts of the world.
''It seems evil has been dominating and man is no longer living in a quiet and peaceful world. We hope to get rid of devils and restore peace in the world.'' Mr Tang said they had asked the Taoist Yuen Yuen Institute to invite overseas monks to help make prayers more influential.
He added that villagers had donated more than $1 million for the festival.
The week-long festival will also include lion dances and Cantonese opera.
