Is Taiwan storing tanks + weapons in temples and churches?!

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Is Taiwan stationing its tanks and weapons in temples, churches and other religious places?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Taiwan is storing tanks + weapons in temples + churches!

Some people are claiming that Taiwan is stationing its tanks and weapons in temples, churches and other religious places!

ShanghaiPanda : Taiwan is stationing a lot of weapons in temples, churches and other religious places.👇

In the future, in case the war breaks out, I am sure the western media will criticize mainland China for attacking these places.

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Is Taiwan Stationing Tanks + Weapons In Temples + Churches?!

 

Truth : Taiwan is not storing tanks + weapons in temples + churches!

This is yet another example of propaganda created and/or promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and/or pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Photo was taken in Taitung in 2022

Some people have suggested that this photo was taken recently, during the Hanguang 40 exercise at the Madou Daitianfu Temple (麻豆代天府) in Tainan. That’s not true.

The photo is genuine, but isn’t new. It was taken in 2022. The photo was also taken at a different temple – the Taitung City Zhiben Daitianfu Temple (台東市知本代天府) – about 130 km further north.

When that photo went viral two years ago, it was not because people actually believed that Taiwan was placing tanks and weapons in temples and other religious places. Taiwanese netizens poked fun at it because it appeared as if the dog was guarding those tanks!

The tanks were temporarily parked

At the time the photo was taken, the Taiwanese Army was holding exercises nearby, and asked the temple to temporarily use its compound to park its tanks.

That military exercise did not involve live-fire, so the tanks did not have any ammunition in them. In addition, the tanks were not stored at the temple, but removed at end of the exercise.

Taiwanese Army confirmed the facts

The Taiwan Fact Checking Center contacted the Taiwanese Army (Republic of China Army) headquarters, which confirmed that the photo was taken when their soldiers parked their tanks at the temple during its 2022 military exercise.

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No tanks or weapons are being stored in temples

The Taiwan Fact Checking Center also contacted both temples, and was told that no troops, tanks, or weapons are being stored on their grounds.

The Tainan Madou Diantianfu temple, which was misidentified in this drama, never hosted any tanks. It only provided accommodations to the Taiwanese Army during a different military exercise in its area several years ago, as it had vacancies in quarters that were normally reserved for pilgrims.

Other than this single photo of two tanks being parked in a temple two years ago, there has been no other report of temples, churches, or other religious places being used by the Taiwanese Army to store tanks or weapons.

Unsurprisingly, none of those who made these claims actually provided any evidence to back them up.

One unit considered using temples to store ammunition

While that photo actually went viral two years ago, it appears to have been resurrected by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and/or pro-CCP netizens, to take advantage of a controversy that erupted in early July 2024, over a suggestion to store ammunition on one temple’s grounds.

On June 17, 2024, the Taiwanese Army Armed Forces Reserve Command for Maoli County issued a letter to the Tianbao Temple (天寶寺), asking for permission to stockpile ammunition on its grounds in the event of an imminent conflict. The redacted letter was released online, triggering criticism by Taiwanese netizens.

On Monday, 1 July 2024, the Maoli County Armed Forces Reserve Command clarified that it had no plans to stockpile ammunition in temples, and it was merely requesting local temples to take part in its logistics resilience exercises. It urged the Taiwanese people to cooperate with efforts to bolster the combat preparedness of the armed forces, as national security cannot be maintained without the support of the public.

On the same day, Jiouhu Village (九湖) Warden Tseng I-nan (曾義男) said that the military called him to apologise for the controversy, and said that its ammunition storage proposal has been scrapped. Tseng said that he disagreed with the proposal as using religious sites for military purposes is banned under international law.

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This is just CCP propaganda

While one Taiwanese Army unit did consider storing ammunition (not weapons or tanks) on temple grounds, it never came to fruition. As far as we can tell – no temple or church or other religious places in Taiwan have been used, or are being used, to store weapons or tanks or ammunition for the Taiwanese Army.

Ultimately, this appears to be nothing more than than yet another example of propaganda created or promoted by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and/or pro-CCP netizens. Here are some other examples I fact-checked recently:

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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