Gods and gangsters: how China seeks to spread its influence inside Taiwan

While Beijing is increasing the military and political pressure ahead of Taiwanese presidential elections this weekend, religion and organised crime are also part of a multi-front mission to control the territory. Kim Sengupta reports from Taipei

Elaborate Mazu religious processions often attract thousands of worshippers in Taiwan (Getty)

The avowed purpose of the Chinese delegation travelling to Taiwan with a statue of the sea goddess Mazu was strictly religious. They were, they insisted, only going to attend one of the most important events, a grand procession, in her honour.

The Taiwanese government stopped the visit, with officials claiming that its real aim was to try and interfere in the upcoming presidential election taking place in the face of president Xi Jinping threatening an invasion to reunify the island with China.

Taiwanese officials warned last year of the attempted use of Mazu, which has 10 million followers, 60 per cent of the national population, to influence the nation’s democracy. It stressed that those participating in religious exchanges with China need to safeguard the “nation’s best interest” and declared that those “engaging in illegal behaviour in cross-strait exchanges” will be prosecuted.