After the Lingxiao Hall of Taipei's Zhinan Temple was destroyed by fire, the city government gave the green light to special assistance, sparking controversy over unequal treatment of temples.

• The Lingxiao Hall of Zhinan Temple was gutted by fire, with the wooden deity statues on the first floor burned and the second floor left smouldering; the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
• After inspecting the damage, Mayor Chiang Wan-an directed that a cross-departmental single-window unit be set up, supervised by Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua, to provide project-based assistance for reconstruction.
• City councillor Chen Chung-wen questioned the double standard: last year an entire temple at Bishanyan burned down, yet the city government did not handle it in the same way.
• The Civil Affairs Bureau acknowledged that Bishanyan received no administrative assistance at the time, and said that Taipei has more than 1,900 unregistered shrines, making full support difficult under the law.
• The Lingxiao Hall currently holds no cultural heritage status; the city government said it can assist with designation should this be sought in future.

Outlook: The city government has agreed to study a formalised standard for assistance in temple fires, to avoid further accusations of governing on a temple-by-temple basis.