Goddess to counter ghosts

From The Bangkok (Thailand) Post:

Phuket _ A statue of the Chinese goddess, Chao Mae Tap Tim, will be brought from China's Fujian province to Phuket during next month's Vegetarian Festival to try to allay Asian tourists' fears of the ghosts of those who died in the Dec 26 tsunami, said a tourism authority official. Suwalai Pinpradap, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Zone 4, said the statue will be placed at Navamin Plaza in Muang district from Sept 6-Oct 11 for locals and tourists to pay respect to. Tourists from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea are reportedly steering clear of the island because they are afraid of ghosts.