China turns to Buddhism to calm Tibet,Taiwan tensions

WUXI, China, March 28 (Reuters) - Communist China and Taiwan are for the first time jointly hosting a Buddhist forum at this lakeside city on Saturday, as Beijing turns to Buddhism as a balm for global economic turmoil and internal unrest.

"Harmonious world", the theme of the second World Buddhist Forum that begins in Wuxi, echoes the "harmonious society" slogans of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Gargantuan re-creations of Tibetan and South Asian prayer halls, built in a vast park housing a 1,000-year-old pagoda, show the resources China's formally atheist state is prepared to invest to reclaim its Buddhist mantle.

"Even though the views of politicians and monks are different, both are concerned about the financial crisis which has swept across the world," Ye Xiaowen, director of the State Bureau of Religious Affairs, wrote in a commentary in the overseas edition of the People's Daily.

While the rhetoric may be global, Beijing hopes its embrace of Buddhism can help ease tensions with Taiwan and Tibetans.

Tibetan areas are under military lockdown, one year after widespread protests against Chinese rule. Fifty years ago this March, the Dalai Lama fled to India following a failed uprising, and China has declared Saturday a holiday to commemorate the end of serfdom in Tibet.

The 19-year-old Panchan Lama, who Beijing picked and is grooming to tie Tibetan loyalty to China, will make a rare public appearance at the meeting. The two most senior exiled Tibetan Buddhist monks, the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa Lama, will not.

But there's a note of conciliation in the presence of Abbot Hsing Yun, one of Taiwan's most influential monks and an advocate for improved relations between the Dalai Lama and China.

"All the exiled Tibetans should support China; the Communist Party should welcome them back," Hsing Yun told reporters on Friday. He noted the "positive merits" of the monk Beijing demonizes as a separatist.

Cooperating on the forum could help strengthen ties between China and self-ruled Taiwan, which have been warming since the Nationalists, or Kuomintang party, regained the presidency last year. Over 1,000 delegates fly directly to Taiwan on Monday, a trip that would have been impossible a few years ago.

"I hope for increased exchanges, back and forth. The more exchanges there are, the more people can't distinguish between the two, and that will lead to unity," Hsing Yun said.

China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and has vowed to bring the island under mainland rule, by force if necessary.

REVIVAL

The Communist Party rooted out Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism during the first three decades of its rule, but now recognises the potential of religions to maintain stability.

China may also hope to gain moral sway through adopting the mantle of traditional religion, even as Maoism once inspired idealists throughout the developing world.

The country already enjoys increased international stature, thanks to careful diplomacy and the spectacular economic growth that has made it the world's third-largest economy, but the crackdown in Tibet has damaged perceptions worldwide.

"Seeking out the harmonious path, resolving current difficulties, strengthening human confidence: These are all similar approaches to the upcoming G20 in London," Ye said.

Papers submitted to the forum by 2,000 delegates include worries over environmental degradation, a widening wealth gap, unemployment and widespread violence and clashes. (Additional reporting by Benjamin Kang Lim; Editing by Nick Macfie)