{"id":3227,"date":"2026-06-29T05:07:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=3227"},"modified":"2026-06-29T05:07:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:07:52","slug":"facing-china-one-taiwan-coast-guard-officer-draws-strength-from-the-gods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=3227","title":{"rendered":"Facing China, one Taiwan Coast Guard officer draws strength from the gods"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Summary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>PENGHU, Taiwan, June 29 (Reuters) &#8211; When Yeh Chih-sheng steps aboard Taiwan Coast \u200bGuard vessel CG1005 in the choppy waters of the Taiwan Strait, he brings more than his \u200cuniform and orders: he also has temple charms blessed by the gods revered by fishermen for protection at sea.<\/div>\n<div>Yeh is first mate of the 2,400-ton ship based in Taiwan&#8217;s Penghu islands, and part of Taipei&#8217;s maritime frontline as China asserts its claim of sovereignty over \u200bthe democratically governed island.<\/div>\n<div>Off duty, he is an assistant priest, or &#8220;sio-huat&#8221; in Taiwanese, at a Penghu temple \u200bdevoted to the Five Lords \u2014 guardian deities long worshipped by coastal communities for safe seas \u2060and protection from plague.<\/div>\n<div>Yeh has served the gods since primary school, helping spirit mediums during rituals in which deities \u200bare believed to descend from the heavens and deliver instructions.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The Coast Guard is a tangible backing people can see,&#8221; Yeh \u200bsaid. &#8220;The Five Lords are a spiritual anchor in people&#8217;s hearts. Both help bring fishermen and ordinary people a sense of reassurance.&#8221;<\/div>\n<h2>SOURCE OF REASSURANCE<\/h2>\n<div>That fusion of duty and faith has become a source of comfort for Yeh, as Taiwan faces growing military pressure from China, which \u200bhas not ruled out using force to bring the democratically governed island under Chinese control.<\/div>\n<div>Taipei rejects China&#8217;s territorial claims, \u200bespecially Beijing&#8217;s view that it has the right to carry out &#8220;law enforcement&#8221; patrols in Taiwan&#8217;s waters.<\/div>\n<div>China&#8217;s actions have attracted concern from the \u200cU.S. \u2060and some of its allies, which last week said recent operations off Taiwan&#8217;s east coast threatened stability.<\/div>\n<div>China&#8217;s defence ministry said on Thursday its Coast Guard patrols were &#8220;lawful, legitimate and necessary&#8221;.<\/div>\n<div>Reuters was given rare access to Yeh&#8217;s ship in Penghu, an archipelago in the Taiwan Strait, through which billions of dollars of trade passes every year.<\/div>\n<h2>CROSSING THE MEDIAN LINE<\/h2>\n<div>Yeh said Chinese warships and Coast \u200bGuard vessels now often cross \u200bthe median line that \u2060once served as an unofficial buffer and come close to Taiwan&#8217;s 24-nautical mile contiguous zone.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;They have already erased the median line,&#8221; Yeh said, adding that his job was to \u200bmonitor and warn Chinese vessels away using water cannon, loudspeakers, LED boards and radio \u200bmessages rather than \u2060escalating the encounter.<\/div>\n<div>Yeh said he followed the Coast Guard&#8217;s principle of &#8220;not provoking and not yielding&#8221;, and he carries talismans and command tablets from the temple when he goes on patrol.<\/div>\n<div>Standing beside the temple&#8217;s Chienchiu Paochien, or ceremonial divine boat, Yeh said \u2060the vessel, \u200blike his coast guard ship, served to guard the Taiwan Strait \u200band protect fishermen and ordinary people.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;What we protect is people&#8217;s sense of safety and peace of mind,&#8221; Yeh said. &#8220;With the coast guard and navy \u200bthere, people can live normally.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>\n<address>\n<div>\n<div><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Yimou Lee\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/resizer\/v2\/https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com%2Freuters%2FH24NV3AFCZCWPC463OG3JRYY7U.jpg?auth=NOT_FOUND_TOKEN&amp;height=120&amp;width=120&amp;quality=80&amp;smart=true\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<div>Yimou Lee<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><span>\n<div><svg><title>Email<\/title><\/svg><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>\n<div><svg><title>X<\/title><\/svg><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/address>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=3225\">Father and son rescued after four days buried under rubble of Venezuela\u2019s earthquakes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=3223\">Israel destroys Hezbollah underground infrastructure in southern Lebanon<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=3222\">Oil climbs following renewed US, Iran strikes in Middle East<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Yeh Chih-sheng steps aboard Taiwan Coast \u200bGuard vessel CG1005 in the choppy waters of the Taiwan Strait, he brings more than his \u200cuniform and orders: he also has temple charms blessed by the gods revered by fishermen for protection at sea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-3227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-china"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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