A10 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11 , 2021
The World
MYANMAR
Detained U.S. journalist
hit with new charges
An American journalist faces
new charges of terrorism and
sedition nearly six months after
he was detained by Myanmar’s
junta, his attorney said, dealing a
fresh blow to U.S. efforts to free
him.
Danny Fenster, managing
editor of the Frontier Myanmar
news outlet, could face up to life
in prison if found in breach of the
country’s counterterrorism law,
while the penalty for the sedition
law is a term of up to three years.
Fenster was taken into custody
in May as he was trying to leave
the country just months after the
military seized control of the
government. He was charged
with inciting dissent against the
military, breaching immigration
law and unlawful association.
“Now he has been charged with
a total of five criminal charges,”
said Than Zaw Aung, Fenster’s
attorney. The first hearing for the
new charges will be held Tuesday,
while court proceedings for the
three other charges are in
progress, he added.
T he U.S. government has
pushed the junta to release
Fenster even though it formally
shuns Myanmar.
— Bloomberg NewsETHIOPIAU .N.: About 70 drivers
in aid effort d etainedEthiopian authorities have
arrested or detained about
7 0 aid-delivering truck drivers
contracted to the United Nations
and other groups in the past week,
the w orld body said Wednesday,
beginning when the government
declared a state of emergency
amid the country’s escalating war
and growing famine.
It is the government’s latest slap
at the United Nations after the
recent expulsion of seven U.N.
staffers and the detention of at
least 16 local employees amidtensions over what the world body
called a “de facto humanitarian
blockade” on the Tigray region.
The United Nations said all
16 employees d etained Tuesday
are ethnic Tigrayans. The new
U.N. statement said the dozens of
drivers detained are of “different
ethnicities” but include Tigrayans.
The arrests are a further
challenge to efforts to deliver aid
to millions in Tigray, which has
not received badly needed
humanitarian supplies since the
military began hitting the Tigray
capital with airstrikes on Oct. 18.
Meanwhile, Amnesty
International said Tigray forces
raped or gang-raped local women
after attacking a community in theAmhara region as they pushed
toward Addis Ababa.
The report is the most extensive
one yet by a human rights group
on alleged abuses by Tigray forces
after they entered Amhara four
months ago. Earlier, as the war
raged in Tigray, ethnic Tigrayans
reported hundreds of rapes by
Ethiopian and allied forces.
— Associated PressAbout 30 killed in Nigeria
attacks: Nearly 30 people have
been killed across Nigeria’s north
in attacks in recent days targeting
rural areas and police, locals and
authorities said. The three attacks
in the states of Zamfara, Katsina
and Taraba occurred over 48hours. While the attacks were not
related, armed groups have been
terrorizing communities across
the northwest and central parts of
Africa’s most populous country.Heavy rain in Sri Lanka kills 16:
At least 16 people have died in
floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka
after more than a week of heavy
rain, officials said. The disaster
management center said more
than 5,000 people have been
displaced. Most deaths resulted
from drowning and lightning
strikes. At least one person was
reported missing. Higher-than-
usual rainfall has been reported in
most parts of Sri Lanka this year.
— From news servicesDIGESTBY ALICIA CHEN AND LILY KUOdonggang, taiwan — T he ancient ritual
began just before dawn. On a beach in
southern Taiwan, thousands gathered as
volunteers hoisted a 45-foot boat, lavishly
painted in gold and red, on top of a mountain
of incense paper. T he crowd watched silently
as organizers invited the gods aboard. “Pre-
pare to light the firecrackers,” a voice intoned
over a loudspeaker.
The vessel quickly went up in flames.
The boat-burning ceremony in Donggang
— a traditional Taoist festival that honors
guardian deities known as Wang Ye — has
protected Taiwan for decades, according to
residents. Some say the ceremony helped
stave off the worst of the SARS virus in 2003,
while others say it has helped scare away
typhoons. Wang Ye are believed to patrol the
world every three years hunting disease and
evil, and taking them back to heaven.
This year, Wang Ye worshipers hope the
ceremony — eight days of religious rites that
culminated in the burning of a carefully
crafted “king boat” on Oct. 31 — can help end
the coronavirus pandemic. For Taiwan,
which is just emerging from its worst covid-
19 outbreak, the festival represented a return
to normal life after months of restrictions.
“I hope the lords will curb the pandemic
and make it vanish from sight in Taiwan and
the whole world,” said Chang Jung-hui, a
65-year-old Donggang native who has partic-
ipated in the ceremony since he was in
kindergarten.
Taiwan, home to 24 million people, has
fared better than many of its neighbors
during the pandemic. The island went
253 days without a new case in 2020 before
an outbreak this year led to more than 14,
infections and 823 deaths between May and
October, though officials never enforced a
full lockdown. Donggang, a fishing hub of
43,000 people, has recorded just three cases
in the past year and none in five months,
even as the delta variant spread in surround-
ing towns. To many, this is evidence that the
last boat-burning ceremony, in 2018, worked.
“It is a miracle!” said Lin Yi Chen, 35, one
of the volunteers in the ceremony, who was
delighted that the event was able to go ahead.
“It’s a sign of the power of the gods.”
More than 30,000 volunteers and onlook-
ers came to this year’s festival, according to
police, fewer than in previous years because
of crowd limits. Attendees traveled from
across Taiwan, including fishermen who
returned from months at sea for the festival.
Others took time off work to attend.
“It’s okay to lose your job, but you cannotmiss the ceremony,” said Lin Zhi-long, 48,
one of the volunteers.
The Wang Ye boat-burning, which honors
Song dynasty scholars who were immortal-
ized after their deaths at sea, dates back at
least 300 years. In Taiwan, it originated with
Chinese immigrants who brought the rituals
in hopes of protecting themselves from
disease and demons in their new homeland.
This time, the atmosphere was one of joy
after months of restrictions on social gather-
ings. Near the Donglong Temple, streets
were crammed with stalls selling food and
souvenirs. Inside the temple, people lighted
incense and tossed divining blocks, seeking
answers from the gods. The king boat was
paraded through the town to collect disease
and bad spirits, and families lighted fire-
crackers as the procession passed their
homes. Recent graduates, dressed in their
gowns, snapped photos in front of the boat.
“People are so tired. They are hoping for
an event that can inspire them,” said Lin
Yi-chen, 35, a public servant who had trav-
eled from Taipei, the capital.
Li Mei-pin, 56, sat next to the temple,
packing rice and beans in plastic bags — food
for the gods on their quest to hunt disease
and evil.
Li, who runs a local fishing business, said
she had been praying since May that the
ceremony would go ahead, to rid the world of
the coronavirus. “I’m hoping that after the
boat-burning ritual, everything will be fine,”
she said.
Residents caution that the ritual is not
without risks. During the boat-burning cer-
emony, attendees must not turn away, step
on the incense paper or make loud noises for
fear of inviting bad spirits. Children and
pregnant women are advised not to attend.
Waiting on the beach for the ceremony to
begin, attendees napped against trees or
stood silently. Residents say maintaining the
ritual is their duty. “The fire is the best way to
eliminate the virus,” said Chen Yi-hong, 54, a
photographer from Donggang who has doc-
umented the ceremony for a decade.
“In Donggang, every resident has our own
celestial mission. We’re all the children of
Wang Ye,” he said.
[email protected]
[email protected]Kuo reported from Taipei.A Taiwanese tradition
takes on the pandemic
Ritual boat-burning believed to ward off evil and disease
PHOTOS BY ALICIA CHEN/THE WASHINGTON POSTTOP: Thousands gathered in Donggang on
Oct. 31 to see the Wang Ye “king boat” go
up in flames. MIDDLE: The boat is taken
through the town to collect bad spirits.
LEFT: Taoist groups parade in Donggang,