96-581: Fo Guang Shan (FGS) ( Chinese : 佛光山 ; pinyin : Fó guāng shān ; lit. 'Buddha's Light Mountain') is an international Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist organization and monastic order based in Taiwan that practices Humanistic Buddhism whose roots are traced to the Linji school of Chan Buddhism. The headquarters, Fo Guang Shan Monastery , is located in Dashu District , Kaohsiung , and
192-496: A seismic activity area (Taiwan is in a region of the world very prone to large earthquakes and tsunamis) like what happened at Fukushima in Japan in 2011 influenced Tsai and her party to make Taiwan nuclear power-free by 2025. While the nuclear energy referendum guaranteed that nuclear energy would not be abolished in 2018 Tsai decided to not renew the three remaining nuclear power plants' licenses which would expire after 40 years. Of
288-529: A DPP-nominated at-large member of the Legislative Yuan , and was then appointed as Vice Premier under Premier Su Tseng-chang until the cabinet 's mass resignation in 2007. Following the DPP's defeat in the presidential election in 2008 , she was elected as party chair of the DPP, but she resigned when the party lost the presidential election in 2012 . Tsai ran for New Taipei City mayorship in
384-412: A January 2019 speech by stating that Taiwan rejects "one country, two systems" and that because Beijing equates the 1992 Consensus with "one country, two systems", Taiwan rejects the 1992 Consensus as well. During her second inauguration speech, Tsai rejected one country, two systems explicitly again and reaffirmed her previous stance that cross-strait exchanges should be held on the basis of parity between
480-509: A certain extent in South Korea , remain virtually identical to traditional characters, with variations between the two forms largely stylistic. There has historically been a debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters . Because the simplifications are fairly systematic, it is possible to convert computer-encoded characters between the two sets, with the main issue being ambiguities in simplified representations resulting from
576-408: A children's room, retirement home, high school and television station. The social and medical programs of Fo Guang Shan include a free medical clinic with mobile units that serve remote villages, an annual winter relief program organized to distribute warm clothing and food supplies to the needy, a children's and seniors' home, wildlife conservation areas to protect living creatures, and a cemetery for
672-511: A focus on asymmetric warfare , maintenance of a military reserve force , and reform in management to reflect a democratic society. On cross-strait issues, she explicitly rejected the one country, two systems model proposed by Beijing and expressed a desire for both sides to coexist peacefully. Under the Tsai administration, military spending has risen in Taiwan relative to GDP. The defense budget
768-517: A human rights commission under the Control Yuan . She also outlined her economic policy, which included transitioning from manufacturing to high-tech industries, with a focus on existing semiconductor and information and communications technology industries, cybersecurity , biotechnology and healthcare , domestic production of military equipment, green energy and strategically-critical industries. She proposed goals for defense reform, including
864-517: A major defeat in local elections . Tsai resumed the Democratic Progressive Party leadership from Cho Jung-tai on 20 May 2020, when she was inaugurated for her second presidential term. She resigned as party leader following the 2022 Taiwanese local elections . On 11 March 2011, Tsai Ing-wen officially announced her run for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Progressive Party. On 27 April 2011, Tsai became
960-405: A second reappointment by two-thirds vote. The abbot is elected by all monastic members of Fo Guang Shan through public vote. Per tradition, the abbot-elect then begins to use their "inner name", in place of his/her own dharma name , with the first character being Hsin ("心", xin , or heart). In fact, all monastics of Fo Guang Shan have such a name, and several Elders also use theirs publicly. At
1056-613: A standard set of Chinese character forms used to write Chinese languages . In Taiwan , the set of traditional characters is regulated by the Ministry of Education and standardized in the Standard Form of National Characters . These forms were predominant in written Chinese until the middle of the 20th century, when various countries that use Chinese characters began standardizing simplified sets of characters, often with characters that existed before as well-known variants of
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#17327906061021152-817: Is 産 (also the accepted form in Japan and Korea), while in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan the accepted form is 產 (also the accepted form in Vietnamese chữ Nôm ). The PRC tends to print material intended for people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese in traditional characters. For example, versions of the People's Daily are printed in traditional characters, and both People's Daily and Xinhua have traditional character versions of their website available, using Big5 encoding. Mainland companies selling products in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use traditional characters in order to communicate with consumers;
1248-466: Is Taiwan, Taiwan is the ROC, and the current ROC government is no longer ruled by a non-native political power". Tsai resigned as chair of the DPP after losing her 2012 presidential election bid to incumbent Ma Ying-jeou. On 15 March 2014, Tsai announced that she would once more run for party chief of the DPP against incumbent Su Tseng-chang and Frank Hsieh . However, both Su and Hsieh dropped out of
1344-493: Is popularly referred to as one of the " Four Heavenly Kings " and Fo Guang Shan is considered one of the " Four Great Mountains " or four major Buddhist organizations of Taiwanese Buddhism, along with Dharma Drum Mountain , Tzu Chi , and Chung Tai Shan . In 1967, Hsing Yun purchased more than 30 hectares in Dashu Township, Kaohsiung County as the site for the construction of a monastery. The groundbreaking ceremony
1440-533: Is slated to begin operations at the end of 2019. The government also purchased 520 MW of solar capacity in 2017 and more than 1 GW in 2018; total capacity was 2.8 GW at the end of 2018, with the government planning to deploy an addition 1.5 GW of solar power in 2019 and 2.2 GW in 2020. On May 30, 2023, the Renewable Energy Development Act was amended to require solar panels on all new buildings. The government approved amendments to
1536-511: Is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. The organization is also one of the largest charity organizations in Taiwan. The organization's counterpart for laypeople is known as the Buddha's Light International Association . Founded in 1967 by Hsing Yun , the order promotes Humanistic Buddhism and is known for its efforts in the modernization of Chinese Buddhism. The order is famous for its use of technology and its temples are often furnished with
1632-493: The Chinese Commercial News , World News , and United Daily News all use traditional characters, as do some Hong Kong–based magazines such as Yazhou Zhoukan . The Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified characters. DVDs are usually subtitled using traditional characters, influenced by media from Taiwan as well as by the two countries sharing the same DVD region , 3. With most having immigrated to
1728-602: The 1992 Summit took place but does not agree that a "consensus" was ever reached by both sides. She credited the talks with spurring 20 years of dialogue and exchange between the two sides. She hoped that exchanges would continue on the basis of these historical facts, as well as the existence of the Republic of China constitutional system and democratic will of the Taiwanese people. In response, Beijing called Tsai's answer an "incomplete test paper" because Tsai did not agree to
1824-406: The 2008 ROC presidential election , Tsai, a DPP member, was surprisingly suggested. Ma stated that there were no set criteria for a running mate, that his search would not be defined by gender, occupation, or even political party affiliations. On 19 May 2008, Tsai defeated Koo Kwang-ming in the election for DPP chair , and succeeded outgoing Frank Hsieh as the 12th-term chair of the party. She
1920-512: The 2010 municipal elections but was defeated by the KMT candidate, Eric Chu . In April 2011, Tsai became the first woman to be nominated by a major party as a presidential candidate in the history of Taiwan after defeating her former superior, Su Tseng-chang, in the DPP's primary election by a slight margin. In the 2012 Taiwanese presidential election , she was defeated by the then-president Ma Ying-jeou , but she won her first term of presidency in
2016-482: The 2016 presidential election by a landslide in a rematch against Eric Chu. In the 2020 presidential election , she was re-elected as president after winning the election against Han Kuo-yu . Her presidency is succeeded by Lai Ching-te of the DPP on 20 May 2024. Tsai is the second president from the DPP, and also the first popularly elected president to have never served as the Mayor of Taipei . She resigned as head of
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#17327906061022112-562: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which opposes organized religion. Fo Guang Shan's presence in China increased under the leadership of CCP general secretary Xi Jinping after he started a program to revive traditional Chinese faiths. As of 2017, the order had over 1,000 monks and nuns, and over 1 million followers worldwide, with branches in fifty countries. On 5 February 2023 founder Hsing Yun died at his residence at
2208-648: The Dominican Republic , Burkina Faso and El Salvador in 2018, and the Solomon Islands and Kiribati in 2019, and Nicaragua in 2021, and Honduras in 2023, and Nauru in 2024. This continued a trend that was temporarily halted under an unofficial "diplomatic truce" during the Ma Ying-jeou administration where the PRC ceased to court official diplomatic allies of the ROC. At the same time,
2304-681: The Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum (formerly called the Buddha Memorial Center) started with support from the Taiwanese government. The museum's Jade Buddha Shrine is purported to hold tooth relics of the historic Buddha. The site is situated immediately adjacent to the main monastery and covers more than 100 hectares. The complex faces east and is built along a central axial line. Beyond the Welcoming Hall are eight Chinese-styled pagodas on either side of
2400-568: The Kensiu language . Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen ( Chinese : 蔡英文 ; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician who served as the 7th president of the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) from 2016 to 2024, and was the first woman to hold that position. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), she intermittently served as chair of the DPP from 2008 to 2012, 2014 to 2018, and 2020 to 2022. Tsai
2496-483: The New Southbound Policy as well as prioritization of innovative industries. In terms of cross-strait policy, she acknowledged the 1992 Consensus without agreeing to it and called for continued cross-strait dialogue. In her second inauguration speech, Tsai outlined her major goals in her second term, including instituting a lay judge system, lowering the voting age from 20 to 18, and establishing
2592-532: The Presidential Office to replace Tsai as vice premier. She then served as the chair of TaiMedBiologics, a biotechnology company based in Taiwan. The Kuomintang accused Tsai of contracting government work out to TaiMedBiologics during her term as vice premier, while planning to leave the government and lead the company afterward. She was later cleared of all alleged wrongdoing. In Kuomintang candidate Ma Ying-jeou's search for his running mate for
2688-917: The School of Law of Soochow University and National Chengchi University , both in Taipei . In the 1990s, Tsai was also appointed to the Fair Trade Commission and the Copyright Commission. She served as consultant for the Mainland Affairs Council and the National Security Council . She also led the drafting team on the Statute Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau ( Chinese : 港澳關係條例 ). In 2000, Tsai
2784-640: The Shanghainese -language character U+20C8E 𠲎 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-20C8E —a composition of 伐 with the ⼝ 'MOUTH' radical—used instead of the Standard Chinese 嗎 ; 吗 . Typefaces often use the initialism TC to signify the use of traditional Chinese characters, as well as SC for simplified Chinese characters . In addition, the Noto, Italy family of typefaces, for example, also provides separate fonts for
2880-948: The University of the West in the United States. The organization also operates Pu-Men High School in Taipei, Jiun Tou Elementary and Junior High School, Humanities Primary and Junior High School, which provides regular curriculum for students. Fo Guang Shan also has nursery schools, kindergartens , and Sunday schools for children. Along with Tzu Chi , Fo Guang Shan is the only major Buddhist organization in Taiwan that offers some form of strictly secular education, as opposed to purely religious. In mainland China, Fo Guang Shan operates numerous cultural education programs and has built several libraries, even having gotten several books published through state controlled media. Building plans for
2976-476: The five precepts initiation given twice a year at the monastery. All branches of Fo Guang Shan organize pilgrimages to bring devotees to the monastery from different parts of Taiwan and overseas. In mainland China the order focuses strongly on cultural exchange rather than religion to introduce Buddhist ideas, as proselytizing is illegal in China. Fo Guang Shan's approach to Dharma propagation focuses on simplifying Buddhism in order to make it more appealing to
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3072-607: The DPP regained momentum in elections of 2009, after major defeats from 2006 to 2008. In 2010, she was re-elected as the chair of the DPP. Tsai made a controversial statement in May 2010 claiming that the Republic of China was a " government-in-exile " non-native to Taiwan; however on 8 October 2011, two days prior to the 100-year anniversary celebrations of the Double Ten Day , Tsai changed her statement, stating that "The ROC
3168-598: The Democratic People's Party (DPP) in November 2022, citing her party's poor performance in local elections earlier that month. Tsai was born at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Zhongshan District , Taipei City on 31 August 1956, the youngest of eleven children. Her father, Tsai Chieh-sheng (1918–2006), was a businessman who ran an auto repair shop, and her mother Chang Chin-fong (1925–2018)
3264-470: The Electricity Act on 20 October 2016 to break up the state-owned monopoly Taipower into subsidiaries and further liberalize the power sector by allowing companies to sell electricity to users directly rather than selling through Taipower. In particular, the generation and distribution divisions of Taipower are to be separated. Amongst the stated motivations for liberalisation was to allow for
3360-419: The Electricity Act. An energy blackout due to an unrelated operational mistake have led some to question the nuclear phase-out. According to the results of the 2018 referendum , this provision was abolished on 7 May 2019. Nonetheless, the administration has maintained a goal of phasing out nuclear energy. The controversial nuclear waste site on Orchid Island and the dangers of nuclear power plants in
3456-599: The People's Republic of China . She insisted "the two sides (The ROC and PRC) of the Taiwan Strait do not belong to each other" (海峽兩岸互不隸屬). The Tsai administration oversaw Taiwan's response to the COVID-19 pandemic . The Central Epidemic Command Center was activated on January 20, 2020, and deactivated May 1, 2023. On August 28, 2020, the Tsai administration lifted a ban on leaning agent ractopamine , clearing
3552-502: The People's Republic of China, traditional Chinese characters are standardised according to the Table of Comparison between Standard, Traditional and Variant Chinese Characters . Dictionaries published in mainland China generally show both simplified and their traditional counterparts. There are differences between the accepted traditional forms in mainland China and elsewhere, for example the accepted traditional form of 产 in mainland China
3648-644: The Tsai administration saw breakthroughs in Taiwan's unofficial relations with the United States and the European Union. On 9 August 2020, the United States Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar of the Trump administration became the highest-level Cabinet member to visit Taiwan since the diplomatic break between the ROC and the United States in 1979. In April 2021, the United States ambassador to Palau made an official visit to Taiwan,
3744-524: The United States during the second half of the 19th century, Chinese Americans have long used traditional characters. When not providing both, US public notices and signs in Chinese are generally written in traditional characters, more often than in simplified characters. In the past, traditional Chinese was most often encoded on computers using the Big5 standard, which favored traditional characters. However,
3840-586: The age of 95 in Kaoshiung, Taiwan. His funeral took place on 12 February 2023 in the presence of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Chen Chien-jen . Temples and organizations have been established in 173 countries throughout the world, and now encompasses more than 3,500 monastics. The organization emphasizes education and service, maintaining universities, Buddhist colleges, libraries, publishing houses, translation centres, Buddhist art galleries, teahouses, and mobile medical clinics. It has also established
3936-521: The aging ROCN Hsu Hai (formerly the USS Pensacola ). On 11 March 2022, a special force soldier wrote to Tsai, reporting that insufficient supply and logistical planning compelled combatants to purchase equipment from outside suppliers at their own expense for two years. Such equipment was subsequently disqualified as non-standard upon inspection, in contrast of the reserve trainees receiving new sets of equipment. The soldier also appealed to abolish
Fo Guang Shan - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-543: The beginning of the year, the abbot-elect is inaugurated as the new director of Fo Guang Shan through a traditional dharma transmission ceremony, receiving the robe, bowl, khakkhara, and a copy of the FGS constitution. In the case of Venerable Hsin Bau’s inauguration in 2013, he and 72 other monastics received dharma transmission from Hsing Yun along with him. Hsing Yun is the only abbot to have served as such for more than two terms and
4128-449: The care of the deceased. Fo Guang Shan's social work focuses primarily on helping the poor in remote areas. The organization also runs orphanages, homes for the elderly, and drug rehabilitation programs in prisons. Fo Guang Shan has also been involved in some international relief efforts. The educational programs of Fo Guang Shan include four Buddhist colleges, three regular colleges, and various community colleges. The Fo Guang University
4224-572: The content of the 1992 Consensus. On 25 June 2016, Beijing suspended official cross-strait communications, with any remaining cross-strait exchanges thereafter taking place through unofficial channels. In January 2019, Xi Jinping , the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), wrote an open letter to Taiwan, proposing a one country, two systems formula for eventual unification. Tsai responded to Xi in
4320-432: The direct purchase of green energy by consumers. The plan also included emissions controls, the creation of a regulatory agency, mandatory reserve margins (waived for start-up green energy companies), and measures for price stabilization. The plan was met with protests by Taipower employees. Tsai campaigned on a promise to make Taiwan nuclear-free by 2025, which was codified into law on 11 January 2017 via amendments to
4416-488: The election in the aftermath of the Sunflower Student Movement . Tsai defeated Kaohsiung County deputy commissioner Kuo Tai-lin by 79,676 votes. Tsai led the DPP to an historic victory in the local elections held on 29 November 2014, in which the party secured leadership of 13 of Taiwan's 22 municipalities and counties. The DPP's stunning victory in the elections strengthened Tsai's position within
4512-548: The first female presidential candidate in Taiwan after she defeated former Premier Su Tseng-chang by a small margin in a nationwide phone poll (of more than 15,000 samples) that served as the party's primary. Tsai ran against incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang and James Soong of the People First Party in the 5th direct presidential election, which was held on 14 January 2012. Garnering 45.63% of
4608-728: The first time a US ambassador had done so since the US switched recognition from the ROC to the PRC in 1979. In the same month, the United States President Joe Biden also sent an official delegation including former senator Chris Dodd to Taiwan. On November 3, 2021 the first official European Union delegation arrived in Taiwan led by French MEP Raphael Glucksmann , and consisting of Lithuanian MEPs Andrius Kubilius and Petras Auštrevičius , Czech MEP Markéta Gregorová , Austrian MEP Andreas Schieder , Greek MEP Georgios Kyrtsos and Italian MEP Marco Dreosto , with
4704-523: The highest-profile visit since. The PRC responded with several days of military exercises around Taiwan. On March 25, 2023, an official delegation of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic , led by Markéta Pekarová Adamová , visited Taiwan to conduct exchanges on trade, cultural, and academic exchanges. During her first inauguration speech, Tsai acknowledged that the talks surrounding
4800-432: The importance of the so-called 1992 Consensus and called Tsai a Taiwan independence extremist. Tsai criticized Ma's government for not answering her question and labeling others. After former President Chen Shui-bian's acknowledgment of transferring past campaign funds overseas, Tsai apologized to the public and also said that the DPP would not try to cover up for Chen's alleged misdeeds. The Clean Government Commission
4896-521: The incumbent abbot usually selects his successor, Fo Guang Shan directly elects an abbot to head the Order and its temple branches worldwide. The head of the FGS order and all of its branches is the abbot and chief executive of Fo Guang Shan Monastery . The abbot is the chairperson of the Board of Directors, serving a term of six years, with one reappointment by popular vote and, under exceptional circumstances,
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#17327906061024992-493: The inverse is equally true as well. In digital media, many cultural phenomena imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan into mainland China, such as music videos, karaoke videos, subtitled movies, and subtitled dramas, use traditional Chinese characters. In Hong Kong and Macau , traditional characters were retained during the colonial period, while the mainland adopted simplified characters. Simplified characters are contemporaneously used to accommodate immigrants and tourists, often from
5088-468: The latest equipment. Hsing Yun's stated position for Fo Guang Shan is that it is an "amalgam of all Eight Schools of Chinese Buddhism" ( Chinese : 八宗兼弘 ; pinyin : bāzōng jiānhóng ). The Fo Guang Shan order has several associated colleges, among them Fo Guang University in Taiwan and University of the West in the United States, which offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in both Buddhist Studies and secular fields. In Taiwan, Hsing Yun
5184-775: The main avenue leading up to the Bodhi Square, about which are statues of the Buddha's main disciples and of the founders of the principal schools of Chinese Buddhism. The path leads onto the Memorial Hall, which holds several shrines including the Jade Buddha Shrine. Above the hall are four stupas that symbolize the Four Noble Truths . Standing behind but separate from it, there is an enormous seated metal Shakyamuni Buddha 108 meters high. The Center
5280-413: The mainland trade invasion. Tsai also said that the pact "will make Taiwan lose its independence in cross-strait relations and become a Chinese parasite" and that Taiwan should negotiate with China under the multilateral-framework World Trade Organization , which would offer more trade protections and emphasize Taiwan's distinct status. Under Tsai's leadership, along with some of KMT's unpopular policies,
5376-725: The mainland. The increasing use of simplified characters has led to concern among residents regarding protecting what they see as their local heritage. Taiwan has never adopted simplified characters. The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan. Nevertheless, with sufficient context simplified characters are likely to be successfully read by those used to traditional characters, especially given some previous exposure. Many simplified characters were previously variants that had long been in some use, with systematic stroke simplifications used in folk handwriting since antiquity. Traditional characters were recognized as
5472-682: The majority of Chinese text in mainland China are simplified characters , there is no legislation prohibiting the use of traditional Chinese characters, and often traditional Chinese characters remain in use for stylistic and commercial purposes, such as in shopfront displays and advertising. Traditional Chinese characters remain ubiquitous on buildings that predate the promulgation of the current simplification scheme, such as former government buildings, religious buildings, educational institutions, and historical monuments. Traditional Chinese characters continue to be used for ceremonial, cultural, scholarly/academic research, and artistic/decorative purposes. In
5568-469: The mandatory diary writing for examination. The classified "2022006470" document was somehow illegally leaked from the presidential office to the media with his identity exposed on 18 March. In response, Minister of National Defense , Chiu Kuo-cheng stated: "I will not let him get away with it", "Fix the crying baby!" When questioned by members of the Legislative Yuan, Chiu clarified that he
5664-619: The masses. The organization is known for utilizing modern marketing techniques and preaching methods such as the use of laser shows and multimedia displays. Fo Guang Shan temples have no entrance fee, and do not allow many of the practices commonly found in other Chinese temples, such as fortune-telling or the presence of sales vendors. Despite the popularity of the organization, Fo Guang Shan has received criticism for being "too focused on commercialism, expanding its membership base, and building large temples." (Schak and Hsiao) Traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are
5760-983: The merging of previously distinct character forms. Many Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between these character sets. Traditional characters are known by different names throughout the Chinese-speaking world. The government of Taiwan officially refers to traditional Chinese characters as 正體字 ; 正体字 ; zhèngtǐzì ; 'orthodox characters'. This term is also used outside Taiwan to distinguish standard characters, including both simplified, and traditional, from other variants and idiomatic characters . Users of traditional characters elsewhere, as well as those using simplified characters, call traditional characters 繁體字 ; 繁体字 ; fántǐzì ; 'complex characters', 老字 ; lǎozì ; 'old characters', or 全體字 ; 全体字 ; quántǐzì ; 'full characters' to distinguish them from simplified characters. Some argue that since traditional characters are often
5856-483: The mountain gate of Fo Guang Shan to the general public. His reason in closing the monastery was to give monastics the cloistered atmosphere they need for their Buddhist practice. In practice, many Chinese monasteries have also closed their mountain gates to give a cloistered atmosphere to the temple residents. At the end of 2000, then President Chen Shui-bian of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and government officials from Kaohsiung visited Fo Guang Shan, bringing with them
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#17327906061025952-677: The official script in Singapore until 1969, when the government officially adopted Simplified characters. Traditional characters still are widely used in contexts such as in baby and corporation names, advertisements, decorations, official documents and in newspapers. The Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative in Southeast Asia regarding simplification. Although major public universities teach in simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications such as
6048-483: The order when they retire. They continue to make Dharma talks throughout the world and become elder teachers of the order in their later years. Following Hsing Yun’s death, current abbot Hsin Bau became the permanent guiding teacher of the order. Dharma programs of Fo Guang Shan include lectures given in prisons and factories; programs on television, radio, and online, large-scale public lectures in Taiwan and overseas, and
6144-446: The order’s network. Each of the nine members are elected prior to the resignation, death, or the ending of a term of an abbot. Once elected by members of Fo Guang Shan, the votes are openly counted. The nine members then nominate their next abbot, who in practice was chosen by Hsing Yun personally. Eight members of the council are ordained monastics, and one is a non-voting layperson. Unlike a traditional Mahayana Buddhist monastery, where
6240-700: The original standard forms, they should not be called 'complex'. Conversely, there is a common objection to the description of traditional characters as 'standard', due to them not being used by a large population of Chinese speakers. Additionally, as the process of Chinese character creation often made many characters more elaborate over time, there is sometimes a hesitation to characterize them as 'traditional'. Some people refer to traditional characters as 'proper characters' ( 正字 ; zhèngzì or 正寫 ; zhèngxiě ) and to simplified characters as 簡筆字 ; 简笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'simplified-stroke characters' or 減筆字 ; 减笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'reduced-stroke characters', as
6336-493: The party and placed her as the front-runner in the 2016 Presidential Elections ; she announced her second bid for the Presidency on 15 February 2015. On 16 January 2016, she won the election by a landslide, winning 56.1% of votes, beating her opponent Eric Chu , who won 31.1% of the votes. On 24 November 2018, she resigned as leader of the Democratic Progressive Party and refused Premier Lai Ching-te 's resignation after
6432-577: The post of vice president of the Executive Yuan , a position commonly referred to as vice premier. She concurrently served as chairwoman of the Consumer Protection Commission . On 17 May 2007, Tsai, along with the rest of the cabinet of out-going Premier Su Tseng-chang , resigned to make way for incoming Premier Chang Chun-hsiung and his cabinet. Premier Chang named Chiou I-jen , the incumbent secretary-general of
6528-781: The predominant forms. Simplified characters as codified by the People's Republic of China are predominantly used in mainland China , Malaysia, and Singapore. "Traditional" as such is a retronym applied to non-simplified character sets in the wake of widespread use of simplified characters. Traditional characters are commonly used in Taiwan , Hong Kong , and Macau , as well as in most overseas Chinese communities outside of Southeast Asia. As for non-Chinese languages written using Chinese characters, Japanese kanji include many simplified characters known as shinjitai standardized after World War II, sometimes distinct from their simplified Chinese counterparts . Korean hanja , still used to
6624-557: The presidential candidate on 15 April. During summer of 2015, Tsai embarked on a visit to the United States and met a number of US policy makers including Senators John McCain and Jack Reed . In her speech addressing Taiwanese diaspora on the east coast of the United States, Tsai signaled a willingness to cooperate with the rising Third Party coalition in Taiwan in the incoming general election. On 14 November, Tsai's campaign announced that she had chosen Chen Chien-jen as DPP vice presidential candidate. On 16 January 2016, Tsai won
6720-551: The presidential election, beating her opponent Eric Chu by a margin of 25.04%. Tsai was inaugurated as president on 20 May 2016. After her election, Tsai was named one of "The 100 Most Influential People" in TIME magazine 2 May 2016 issue. Tsai announced on 19 February 2019 via an interview with CNN that she would run for reelection as president in 2020. She registered to run in the Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary on 21 March 2019. Tsai defeated Lai Ching-te in
6816-445: The primary, and the Democratic Progressive Party nominated her as its candidate for the 2020 presidential election on 19 June 2019. Tsai and Lai formed the Democratic Progressive Party ticket on 17 November 2019. In the inauguration speech for her first term, Tsai stated policy goals such as pension reform, long-term care for the elderly, transitional justice, and judicial reform. She outlined an economic policy of diversification via
6912-418: The purpose of conducting exchanges on disinformation and cyber attacks against democracies. The visit followed an official tour of Central Europe by foreign minister Joseph Wu which included an unofficial visit to Brussels . On August 2, 2022, U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan with a delegation of 6 Democratic representatives , the first since a visit by Newt Gingrich in 1997, and
7008-430: The same combat gear as active servicemembers and synchronization of mobilization. The first domestically-produced rapid mine-laying ship was delivered on 4 August 2020, and construction on an indigenous diesel submarine began in November 2020. The navy's first indigenous amphibious transport dock was launched on April 13, 2021; named Yu Shan after the mountain with the same name and built by CSBC , it will replace
7104-779: The three active nuclear power plants as of 2016, the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant was shut down in July 2019, the Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant will be decommissioned in March 2023, and the final nuclear power plant to shut down will be the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in May 2025. On 5 July 2017, the first Forward-Looking Infrastructure Bill passed the Legislative Yuan. The bill provided $ 420 billion NTD in funds over
7200-583: The traditional character set used in Taiwan ( TC ) and the set used in Hong Kong ( HK ). Most Chinese-language webpages now use Unicode for their text. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends the use of the language tag zh-Hant to specify webpage content written with traditional characters. In the Japanese writing system , kyujitai are traditional forms, which were simplified to create shinjitai for standardized Japanese use following World War II. Kyūjitai are mostly congruent with
7296-985: The traditional characters in Chinese, save for minor stylistic variation. Characters that are not included in the jōyō kanji list are generally recommended to be printed in their traditional forms, with a few exceptions. Additionally, there are kokuji , which are kanji wholly created in Japan, rather than originally being borrowed from China. In the Korean writing system , hanja —replaced almost entirely by hangul in South Korea and totally replaced in North Korea —are mostly identical with their traditional counterparts, save minor stylistic variations. As with Japanese, there are autochthonous hanja, known as gukja . Traditional Chinese characters are also used by non-Chinese ethnic groups. The Maniq people living in Thailand and Malaysia use Chinese characters to write
7392-472: The two sides. She further remarked that cross-strait relations had reached a "historical turning point." During her speech on the Double Tenth Day on October 10, 2021, President Tsai rejected the idea of " complete unification of Chinese motherland " through a peaceful unification under "One country, two systems" proposed by the Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the 72nd Anniversary of the founding of
7488-518: The ubiquitous Unicode standard gives equal weight to simplified and traditional Chinese characters, and has become by far the most popular encoding for Chinese-language text. There are various input method editors (IMEs) available for the input of Chinese characters . Many characters, often dialectical variants, are encoded in Unicode but cannot be inputted using certain IMEs, with one example being
7584-497: The umbrella of the Forward-Looking Infrastructure initiative have been used to fund green energy initiatives. The administration plans to install 1,000 wind turbines on land and offshore and has contracted Ørsted of Denmark to install 900 MW of capacity and wpd of Germany to install 1 GW of capacity. Taiwan's first offshore wind farm, Formosa I, consisting of 22 wind turbines expected to produce 128 MW,
7680-411: The vote, she conceded defeat to President Ma in an international press conference, resigning her seat as Chairman of the DPP. On 15 February 2015, Tsai officially registered for the Democratic Progressive Party's presidential nomination primary. Though Lai Ching-te and Su Tseng-chang were seen as likely opponents, Tsai was the only candidate to run in the primary and the DPP officially nominated her as
7776-402: The way for U.S. pork imports and removing a major hurdle for bilateral trade talks between Taiwan and the United States. This move proved controversial domestically, and a referendum to reinstate the ban was defeated in 2021. On June 1, 2022, Taiwan established a trade negotiation framework titled the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade. On June 1, 2023, an initial trade agreement
7872-548: The wish from their constituents that Fo Guang Shan reopen its mountain gate. After due consideration, Fo Guang Shan decided to reopen the monastery to some extent, thereby providing the public a place to practice Pure Land Buddhism . On top of its headquarters being the largest monastery in Taiwan, it has a network of over 300 branches throughout Taiwan. In the 2010s, Fo Guang Shan began establishment in mainland China , focusing more on charity and Chinese cultural revival rather than Buddhist propagation in order to avoid conflict with
7968-587: The words for simplified and reduced are homophonous in Standard Chinese , both pronounced as jiǎn . The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han dynasty c. 200 BCE , with the sets of forms and norms more or less stable since the Southern and Northern dynasties period c. the 5th century . Although
8064-598: Was a housewife. During her high school period, she studied at Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School . She studied law at the behest of her father. After graduating at the College of Law, National Taiwan University , in 1978, Tsai obtained a Master of Laws at Cornell Law School in 1980. She then studied law at the London School of Economics and was awarded a Ph.D. in law from the University of London in 1984. Upon her return to Taiwan, she taught law at
8160-506: Was appointed to a series of governmental positions, including trade negotiator for WTO affairs, by the then ruling party Kuomintang (KMT) and was one of the chief drafters of the special state-to-state relations doctrine under the President Lee Teng-hui . During the first term of Chen Shui-bian 's presidency, Tsai served as Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council . She joined the DPP in 2004 and served briefly as
8256-420: Was born and raised in Taipei and studied law and international trade , and later became a law professor at Soochow University School of Law and National Chengchi University after earning an LLB from National Taiwan University and an LLM from Cornell Law School . She later studied law at the London School of Economics and was awarded a PhD . In 1993, as an independent (without party affiliation), she
8352-467: Was disgusted by what he considered cowardly behavior, and that the soldier's critiques were unfair to the preparatory staff. The case raised concern on the standard operating procedure regarding data security breaches affecting the presidential office. Under Tsai, several countries which had formally recognized the Republic of China (ROC) switched recognition to the People's Republic of China (PRC): São Tomé and Príncipe in 2016, Panama in 2017,
8448-427: Was established in 2000. It focuses mainly on the humanities and social sciences. The Chinese Buddhist research institute is subdivided into four separate departments; a women's and men's college, and an international and English Buddhist studies department. Tuition fees and lodging are provided by Fo Guang Shan, free of charge. Other prominent universities the order has established include Nanhua University in Taiwan and
8544-479: Was given the high-profile appointment of chair of the Mainland Affairs Council. Confirming the widely held belief that she maintained Pan-Green sympathies, Tsai joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2004. She was subsequently nominated by the DPP to be a candidate in the 2004 legislative election and was elected as a legislator-at-large. On 26 January 2006, Tsai was appointed to
8640-563: Was held on 16 May 1967. Fo Guang Shan has embarked on many construction projects, including university buildings, shrines, rectories, retirement homes, and a cemetery. In 1975, Fo Guang Shan's iconic 36-metre tall statue of Amitābha Buddha was consecrated. In 1981, 15 years after its establishment, the Great Hero Hall was built. During these times, many other Fo Guang Shan temples outside the order's mother monastery were also built. In May 1997, Hsing Yun announced that he would close
8736-611: Was not elected by the board of directors. In the case of Venerable Hsin Ping, he was also not officially elected, as he was Hsing Yun's designated heir apparent. After Hsin Ping died of sudden illness in 1995, the vice director of Fo Guang Shan, Venerable Hsin Ting was immediately elevated to serve the remaining years of Hsin Ping's term before he was elected to a term in his own right. Abbots have been elected according to FGS's constitution since then. As with Hsing Yun, emeritus abbots do not leave
8832-601: Was opened at an international ceremony on 25 December 2011 and the first anniversary celebrated on Christmas Day 2012. In 1972, Hsing Yun established a nine-member council, known as the Fo Guang Shan Religious Affairs Committee, later renamed the Fo Guang Shan Board of Directors. These nine members govern and oversee the operations of the order through making appointments to various departments and other temples from within
8928-771: Was set to $ 327 billion NTD in 2018 and $ 346 billion in 2019. The defense budget in 2020 was set to $ 411 billion NTD, estimated to be 2.3% of GDP, representing an 8.3% increase in total spending over the previous year and a 0.2% increase in percentage of GDP. In 2021 it was set to $ 453 billion NTD, estimated to be 2.4% of GDP, and a 4.4% increase over the previous year. The administration has also focused on defensive self-sufficiency and developing indigenous industries, such as in submarines and missiles. The AIDC T-5 Brave Eagle indigenous jet trainer , which started development in 2017, successfully conducted its first test flight in 2020. On 29 June 2020, Tsai announced measures to shore up Taiwan's military reserves, including assigning them
9024-603: Was set up to investigate corruption within the DPP. On 25 April 2010, Tsai participated in a televised debate against President and Kuomintang chairman Ma Ying-jeou over a proposed trade agreement, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA); while President Ma believed ECFA would increase Taiwanese exports to mainland China and lower unemployment rates , Tsai said it "will force Taiwan to open up for cheap Chinese exports eventually" and certain domestic industries will be harmed by
9120-405: Was signed with the United States on June 1, 2023 under this framework, which streamlined customs regulations, established common regulatory practices, and introduced anti-corruption measures, with further measures still in discussion. The Tsai administration has stated an electricity supply goal of 20% from renewables , 30% from coal and 50% from liquefied natural gas by 2025. Bills under
9216-524: Was the first woman to chair a major Taiwanese political party. Tsai took office on 20 May 2008, the same day Ma Ying-jeou was inaugurated as president. She said that DPP would work to deepen the Taiwanese localization movement while defending social justice. She criticized Ma for mentioning closer Cross-Strait relations but nothing about Taiwan's sovereignty and national security. Tsai questioned Ma's stance on Taiwan's sovereign status. Ma emphasized
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