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BEIJING-China on Tuesday officially approved a Taiwan Buddhist group which has been quietly conducting charity work for almost two decades, a landmark concession to religion by the country's atheist Communist rulers.China maintains tight control over religion but has sought to use Buddhism to help curb rising social unrest and help fill an ideological vacuum which has spawned corruption and eroded ethics in the post-Mao era.The Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a license for the Taiwan Buddhist charity group Tzu Chi to run "the first foundation (in China) in which a non-mainland resident serves as the legal representative,"Fan Liqing,spokeswoman for the cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office,told reporters.But for Tzu Chi, it will be business as usual."We will not change our ways. We will go wherever there is suffering," Lin Pi-Yu, vice-president of Tzu Chi, told Reuters when asked about the group's future plans. "Our hearts are calm."Asked why she thought China approved the group's application, Lin said: "For 17 years, they've seen our diligence and honesty in cultivating the land."Lin, who is visiting Beijing, declined to comment on tensions between China and Taiwan, diplomatic rivals since their split in 1949 at the end of the Chinese civil war.China claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan and insists on eventual reunification. Despite the rivalry, however, bilateral trade and investment, tourism and civilian exchanges have blossomed since the late 1980s.To read more go to:
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