New Taipei Thingyan fair held to aid Myanmar quake victims

New Taipei, April 13 (CNA) The Myanmar Overseas Chinese Association's annual Thingyan festival in New Taipei on Sunday replaced traditional water-dousing celebrations with prayers and a fundraising campaign for those affected by the devastating March 28 earthquake.

On Sunday, a shrine was set up for participants to pour water on a Buddha statue at the "Myanmar Street" New Year fair along what was formally called Huaxin Street in New Taipei's Zhonghe District, and Buddhist monks sprayed water on visitors seeking blessings.

The Myanmar Overseas Chinese Association had earlier announced the cancellation of the traditional water fight held for years along the street near Nanshijiao Metro Station for Thingyan, also known as Myanmar New Year.

Instead, volunteers held signs with a QR code along the street for people to make donations to the "328 Myanmar Earthquake Joint Relief Operation" organized by the association and several other community groups, following one of the largest earthquakes to hit the Southeast Asian country in more than a century.

Southeast Asian food was offered to people taking part in the fair on Huaxin Street, which the New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department said is home to Taiwan's biggest Myanmar-Chinese community, as well as restaurants offering dishes from Myanmar, Thailand and Yunnan in southwestern China.

Lee Pei (李沛), chairman of the Myanmar Overseas Chinese Association, said at Sunday's street fair that the traditional water-splashing festivities had been replaced by prayers, blessing rituals, and a fundraising campaign aimed at helping those in Myanmar affected by the March 28 earthquake rebuild their homes.

Meanwhile, a volunteer handing out yellow ribbons to tie on trees said: "We hope the earthquakes can stop. People are jittery because of the daily seismic activities."

On Sunday morning, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck near Meiktila, between the northern city of Mandalay and the capital Naypyidaw in central Myanmar, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

An Associated Press report published on Sunday said the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28 had caused 3,649 deaths and 5,018 injuries as of Friday, citing Myanmar's military government spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun as the source.

The earthquake was felt in neighboring Thailand and China, triggering the collapse of a 30-story building under construction in Bangkok, resulting in 32 deaths.

According to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, 62 people remained missing as of Saturday.