Chinese leader appeals Buddhists to contribute to world harmony

BEIJING—Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), called on representatives attending a conference of Buddhists from China, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan to make their contribution to a world of harmony.
“The Buddhist circles can play a unique and active role in promoting the cause of world peace ... I hope you will show at the world Buddhist arena the achievements of the tripartite Buddhist conference and the look of solidarity and harmony of the Buddhists of China, ROK and Japan, and make a contribution to the building of a harmonious world,” said Jia when meeting the Buddhists attending the conference.
Jia called on the Buddhists to actively attend the second World Buddhist Forum, to be held in Wuxi, a city in eastern Jiangsu Province, and Hong Kong in November, 2008, sponsored by the Buddhist Association of china and the Religious Culture Communication Association.
China held the first-ever World Buddhist Forum in April last year in the eastern island city of Zhoushan, which ended with a declaration calling for world peace. Over 1,000 Buddhism believers and scholars from 37 countries and regions attended the forum with the theme of “A harmonious world begins in the mind.”
On behalf of the Chinese government, Jia extended his congratulations to the opening of the 10th tripartite Buddhist conference. He said China, ROK and Japan are close neighbors sharing similar cultures and that their belief in Buddhism can be traced to the same origin. He added the close exchanges between the Buddhist circles of the three countries have helped deepen friendship among them.
Jia said China shall adhere to the road of peaceful development and is ready to make its own contribution to world peace and development. People of all countries should work together in building a harmonious world, Hu Jintao said in his report to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Monday. “We maintain that the people of all countries should join hands and strive to build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity,” said Hu on behalf of the 16th CPC Central Committee.
Peace and development remain the main themes of the present era, and pursuit of peace, development and cooperation has become an irresistible trend of the times, Hu said. At the same time, the world remains far from tranquil and world peace and development faces many difficulties and challenges, Hu said.
Sharing opportunities for development and rising to challenges together so as to further the cause of peace and development of humanity is the fundamental interests of the people of all countries and meet their common aspirations, Hu said.
To this end, Hu proposed that all countries uphold the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, observe international law and universally recognized norms of international relations, and promote democracy, harmony, collaboration and win-win solutions in international relations. Politically, all countries should respect each other and conduct consultations on an equal footing in a common endeavor to promote democracy in international relations.
Economically, they should cooperate with each other, draw on each other’s strengths and work together to advance economic globalization in the direction of balanced development, shared benefits and win-win progress. Culturally, they should learn from each other in the spirit of seeking common ground while shelving differences, respect the diversity of the world, and make joint efforts to advance human civilization.
In the area of security, they should trust each other, strengthen cooperation, settle international disputes by peaceful means rather than by war, and work together to safeguard peace and stability in the world. On environmental issues, they should assist and cooperate with each other in conservation efforts to take good care of the Earth, the only home of human beings.
Hu said that whatever changes take place in the international situation, the Chinese government and people will always hold high the banner of peace, development and cooperation, pursue an independent foreign policy of peace, safeguard China’s interests in terms of sovereignty, security and development, and uphold its foreign policy purposes of maintaining world peace and promoting common development.—Xinhua