The Taichung City Government has launched a website that allows people to offer virtual prayers for their deceased friends and family. The goal is to prevent crowding at gravesites during the upcoming Tomb Sweeping Festival and thereby keep COVID-19 at bay.
With just a few clicks of a button, a mourner looking to pay respects to a friend or family member can do so from the comfort of their own home- as long as the deceased is buried at one of Taichung’s public burial sites.
The website offers videos of 34 public columbariums, or repositories for bones, located in the Taichung city limits. There is also footage of other religious establishments for people with beliefs other than Buddhism or Daoism.
Taichung City recently launched the website to encourage people to pay their respects virtually instead of physically gathering at gravesites. This is especially important as Taiwan prepares for the Tomb Sweeping Festival, a traditional time for gatherings to remember the departed and tidy up their graves. The idea is that fewer memorial gatherings will reduce the chance COVID-19 spreading.
Public reaction has so far been mixed. While some appreciate the convenience of the new website, others say they still prefer the traditional way of praying at gravesites.