Enhance Dialogue and Cooperation,And Maintain Peace in the East Asia By Wei Yuanqi
Deputy Secretary-General of China Committee on Religion and Peace
Honorable friends, ladies and gentlemen,
China, the Republic of Korea and Japan are close neighbors sharing cultural affinity. People of our three countries have been learning from each other since ancient times, which has contributed to the development of our three countries and the East Asian civilization and that of the world. In the history of our friendly exchanges, religious exchanges acted as an important bridge of friendship among our people. During the Tang Dynasty, in order to spread Buddhist doctrines and benefit the Japanese people, Monk Jian Zhen made six eastward voyages and finally arrived in Japan at the age of 66. Kim Kiao Kak, a prince of Silla, who read Buddhist doctrines in China’s Jiuhua Mountain, was regarded by later generations as the reincarnation of the Boddhisattva Dizang and is still worshipped by the Chinese people. Also in the Tang Dynasty, the Japanese Monk Ennin came to China and wrote his great work, The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law, one of the three best-known travelogues in the East. The friendly exchanges between the religious communities of our three countries are a rarity in the history of world civilization in terms of their time span and influence. This is our common historical treasure which we should value and carry forward, and it is an important driving force for the development of friendly relations among our three countries.
In modern history, some Japanese militarists waged a war of aggression which stopped our friendly exchanges and harmed peace and development in East Asia. History is the best textbook. This year marks the centennial anniversary of Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula and the 65th anniversary of the end of the World Anti-Fascist War. In this significant year, we should draw lessons from history and seriously think about how to give play to the role of the religious communities of our three countries in creating peace in East Asia and how to serve as the driving force for peace and development in the region and beyond.
The world is undergoing complex and profound changes and East Asia is also faced with many new challenges and difficulties. How to build good neighborly relations and mutually beneficial and all-round cooperation in East Asia is an important task facing us and the historical responsibilities of religions in East Asia.
The foundation of peace and friendship in East Asia lies with the people. In history, religion acted as an important bridge in the friendly exchanges among the countries of our region. At the Asia and Pacific-Rim Peace Conference held in Beijing in the 1950s, Zhao Puchu, a lay Buddhist who later became the first Chairman of the CCRP, presented a statue of Boddhisattva Guanyin representing peace and friendship on behalf of Chinese Buddhists as a gift to the Japanese Buddhist community, which helped to restore the traditional friendship between the Buddhists of our two countries. The Chinese and Japanese religious communities expressed to each other their aspiration for peace and friendship, and this contributed to the normalization of China-Japan relations. The religious communities should and are able to play a unique role in maintaining peace, stability and development in East Asia. In fact, there is a lot we can do.
China treasures and upholds “harmony”. In Chinese history, “harmony” has been considered as the supreme value. China has a cultural tradition that values credibility, harmony and peace, and is committed to the path of peaceful development. We pursue all-round, coordinated and sustainable development and a harmonious society and follow an independent foreign policy of peace and win-win strategy of opening up. China will work together with other countries to build a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity.
As the only national inter-faith organization for peace in China, the CCRP brings together leaders and representatives of China’s five major religions (Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity). The CCRP adheres to the principles of friendship, peace, development and cooperation, actively promotes unity and harmony among Chinese religious communities and carry out communication and cooperation with religious communities of other countries as well as with international, regional and other countries’ organizations of religions for peace. We religious believers should actively support and participate in all undertakings that help to promote the happiness of this and future generations and that are beneficial to amity, cooperation and common prosperity between countries and nations. For example, China’s religious community holds prayers for world peace every year. We should firmly oppose and make a clean break with those deeds which are bad for peace and development and may stoke conflicts and hatred among countries or nations.
China, the ROK and Japan are all important countries in East Asia. The CCRP has been actively engaged in communication and cooperation with religious groups in our region. We have signed bilateral exchange agreement with the KCRP and exchanged visits with them. We have also put forward the initiative of establishing regular exchanges with the WCRP/Japan. In order to promote peace, development and cooperation in East Asia, we call on the religious communities of our three countries to strengthen dialogue, exchanges and cooperation, give scope to our advantage of close connection with the ordinary people, show mutual respect and equality among countries and nations, show restraint and calm, be fully aware of the concerns of other parties to avoid misunderstandings and emotional words or deeds, enhance mutual understanding, do more things that will contribute to peace and stability in East Asia and refrain from doing anything that will intensify tension in the region, build consensus in the spirit of harmony and maintain peace and friendship in East Asia.
Today, the religious communities and political and academic circles of our three countries are gathered here for peace in East Asia. Let’s show more understanding and coordination and call on believers to practice the notion of peace and influence people from all walks of life so as to further consolidate the foundation of friendship among the ordinary people and make unremitting efforts for peace, stability and development of this region.
In conclusion, let’s pray for peace in East Asia and harmony and tranquility of our people.
Thank you.
