Taipei - An Indian firm in Taipei is caught up in a court battle with residents of an apartment building after they accused the company of operating a religious shrine in the building and demanded that the shrine be removed, press reports said Monday. According to the Liberty Times, the Indian firm, translated as Shurui Jieson Co, bought an apartment on the top floor of the 20-storey building on Tunhua South Road to use it as a Jain temple.
Indians working in Taipei often drop by to pray at the shrine, disturbing the life of the building's residents, the paper said.
The building's visitors' registry shows that on September 20, a total of 16 Indians visited the shrine, cable TV channel ETTV said.
"Once a year, there is a big celebration, when some 100 Indians visit the shrine to pray," ETTV said.
In January, the management committee of the building asked the Indian firm to move out of the building, on the grounds that religious activities are not allowed inside residential buildings.
When the Indian firm refused, the management committee filed a law suit with the Taipei District Court to seek a court order to evict the firm.
The firm argued that it was not keeping a shrine and some Taiwan families in the apartment building also have Buddhist or Taoist shrines.
It also claimed that it bought the apartment to use as a dormitory for company employees who pass through Taiwan, not as a shrine.
"We have been trying to settle it peacefully with the residents, but have not succeeded yet," Wang Ho-ping, lawyer for Shurui Jieson Co, told the German Press Agency dpa.
Taiwan's law protects religious freedom, but requires religious organizations to register with the Interior Ministry.
However, the bill on management of apartment buildings stipulates that residents should not disturb the peace, safety and hygiene inside the apartment building.
There are some 2,000 Indian expatriates, mostly Indian businessmen and their families, living in Taiwan.
Jainism is an ancient Indian religion. It prescribes non-violence and development of spirituality through reliance on one's own wisdom and self-discipline.
