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Chinese Religious Leaders Return to Beijing
A delegation consisting of China's seven top leaders of Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity, returned to Beijing Tuesday afternoon, after attending the Millennium World Peace Summit in New York.
Fu Tieshan, head of the delegation and chairman of the China Catholicism Association, said that the delegation's trip, the first of such sort since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, is a vivid demonstration of China's policy of religious freedom.
In an interview with Xinhua during the flight, Fu said that during their stay in the United States, the Chinese religious leaders aired their proposals on maintaining world peace at the millennium summit, introduced China's religious affairs to the outside world and exposed the nature of the Falun Gong cult and the separatist motive of the Dalai clique.
Fu said that the Dalai Lama is a political exile who, for a long time, has abused religion to split the motherland. The Dalai Lama attempted to enter the millennium summit but was rejected. However, he had ordered some people to read out his letter to the summit.
In retaliation, Fu said, Chinese religious leaders proposed to safeguard the purity of religion and opposed anyone from conducting splittism activities in the guise of religion, which gained wide acclaims from most of the delegates at the summit.
Li Hongzhi, founder of the Falun Gong cult, was also sniffed at for his attempt to disguise himself as a religious leader and his efforts to participate in the summit.
Fu Tieshan pointed out that the fact Li Hongzhi sometimes claims himself the founder of a kind of Qigong, and at other times, claims himself a religious leader, indicates that he is really an opportunist.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that Chinese religious leaders had not only safeguarded the principle of Chinese sovereignty, but also cooperated with the international community, which made a great contribution to the smooth operation of the summit.
The delegation also includes Dr. Han Wenzao, president of China 's Christian Council, Taoist master Min Zhiting, Islamic Akhund Chen Guangyuan, Living Buddha Jamyang Losang Jigme Tubdain Qoigyi Nyima, Buddhist master Sheng Hui, and Rev. Ms Cao Shengjie.
Ye Xiaowen, director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, also arrived together with the religious leaders.
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