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Appendix III: Account of a Meeting of the United Front Work Department of Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

The Provincial Level United Front Work Department organized a meeting with religious personages of the minority nationalities of Kangding district to more deeply understand the separatists A’an Zhaxi and others, and to research their violent terrorist crimes.

On December 27th last year [2002], the Provincial Level United Front Ministry in Kangding organized a meeting with local minorities, personages from the religious world and non-Party persons. It [the Ministry] reported on A’an Zhaxi’s clique and the situation of his and Lorang Dengzhu’s punishment. It [the report] caused everyone [present] to understand clearly that A’an Zhaxi’s clique made use of the guise of religion, engaged in separatist activities, and caused terrorist explosions. [The report] resulted in [everyone present] understanding the [clique’s] true nature. Everyone expressed the need to strengthen the administration of temples and of Buddhist monks and to respect the Party and the government concerning the laws, regulations, and policies on religion so that the temples are satisfied, the masses are satisfied, and the Party and government are satisfied. The minorities, religious personages, and non-party persons, after listening to the report of the situation, collectively decided to acknowledge this for themselves and enthusiastically spoke out.

Non-Party scholar Lama Dengzhu said:

The United Front’s work embodies a vast scope. It is one of the party’s “three big magic weapons.” It was in the past, and it still is now. The United Front’s work is the work of uniting people, the work of educating people, and the work of enlightening people’s thinking. Just now, when I heard the facts concerning A’an Zhaxi’s crime, I felt that he deserved his punishment. Our country has thrived and prospered under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); our international stature has risen a great deal; and, all in all, the strength of our country has unceasingly increased. All ethnic groups are united and help each other. China’s minorities feel proud and elated. Moreover, A’an Zhaxi went against the trend of the times, went against the desires of the masses, and engaged in very destructive activities. His behavior was able only to [mimic] that of an “ant which regrets the tree,” and a “mantis trying to stop a chariot” [overrating oneself and trying to hold back an overwhelmingly superior force]. He deserves his punishment.

Although I have no special understanding of religion, I believe A’an Zhaxi acted as a religious personage but his behavior did not conform to religion’s basic tenets. Since the time of Song Zan Gan Bu, Tibetan Buddhism has set forth a series of moral standards, such as, don’t kill, don’t steal, amass good deeds, and so on. If we take a modern perspective, these tenets still are in step with society’s needs. Now, our country’s society is stable, the economy is developing, and people’s lives are rich.

I am someone who lived in old China. I witnessed with my own eyes the society of that time. Only when you have compared new to old can you truly debate the difference. Everyone truly is aware that “only if there is a Chinese Communist Party can there be a new China.” The happiness of [people’s] lives today is a product of new blood in the Communist Party. It is the result of the collective leadership of the Party’s three representative leaders. The Party’s 16^th Congress acknowledged the important thinking of Chairman Jiang’s “three represents” and wrote it into the Party constitution, clearly stating that the CCP is the true representative of the masses’ interest and that the Party’s aim is to serve the people.

A’an Zhaxi hid under the cloak of being a religious worker. His behavior of deceiving the masses has finally been revealed to the world. Everyone definitely needs to value these good days, to earnestly study the spirit of the 16^th Congress, to move people of all kinds to be of one mind as unity is strength, to promote development, and to strive for stability. I also hope that the religious world will carry on the great traditions of the past, positively adapt to socialism, not go against canon or creed, and not destroy the structures of religion.

Provincial People’s Congress Vice Chairman Jiadeng Luorang, the Living Buddha, had this to say:

From the perspective of religion, performing good works and the universal tide of all living creatures are some tenets a religious personage ought to respect. Although no one can accomplish this completely, it is something for which to strive. A’an Zhaxi’s behavior blackened religion. Tibetan Buddhism has many thousands of years of history. Tibetan Buddhism’s rules concerning people’s behavior have been widely acknowledged. Every country respects them, especially in regard to Tibetan Buddhism’s emphasis on the universal tide of all living creatures and the performance of good works.

This country has also, from the beginning, preserved the policy of freedom of religion. Although in the time of the Cultural Revolution there was much influence from the “left,” after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, freedom of belief in religion was implemented. Religious people were organized to go to the People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress. Now the Party’s religious policy is thus: completely carry out the policy of religious freedom, lawfully strengthen the administration of religious activities, positively lead religion and socialist society into conformity. Therefore, religion must respect the laws of the country.

At the same time, religion has rules. A’an Zhaxi’s behavior not only went against the laws of the country, but also against the rules of religion. If religion hurts people, then it is plainly not religion. One respects and practices Buddhism in three different ways, through the body, through thought, and through speech. A’an Zhaxi says he’s a lama, that he’s a Living Buddha, but he hasn’t achieved that. I’m also a Buddhist monk, although I haven’t completely conformed to the creed or the rules of the religion, [and] I know how to follow the law. The fact that A’an Zhaxi is receiving punishment is something he brought on himself.

We religious personages want to use our own strength to protect the unity of the country. We who are present also want to do service on behalf of the development and stability of minority areas. This is our duty. The harsh punishment meted out by the government and the Party committee is as it should be. We want to protect those who love religion and respect the law, and we should punish those who break the law——protect the legal, attack the illegal. Religious personages have a responsibility to propagandize this fact, to make everyone recognize A’an Zhaxi’s true face, and to use A’an Zhaxi’s illegal behavior [as a means] of educating the masses.

Kangding County Nanwu Temple Management Committee member Duo Zhu said:

Now we have religious freedom, temples are open, and the masses who believe in religion have venues for religious activity. A’an Zhaxi’s clique used the name of religion to carry out violent terrorist activities. I believe he is not a religious personage. All that he is and all that he has done blackens religion. As for his punishment, he got what he was looking for. It was his own fault. The Party committee and the government, in dealing with this case, had only this demand: whoever committed this crime ought to take responsibility. There was nothing else dragged into it. We worry because A’an Zhaxi engaged in illegal activities in the name of religion. We fear it will influence religious policy.

After I listened to the report, I felt really happy. The fact that the religious world produced someone like him is really serious. If he were a religious person, at the start of every day he’d chant scripture and do good deeds. But A’an Zhaxi’s behavior is not the behavior of a religious person, and moreover it’s against the laws of the country. Our temples have already been open for over twenty years. We have peacefully developed normal religious activity. But then the religious world produced this kind of degenerate. The government’s punishment differentiates clearly between black and white. Punishing A’an Zhaxi is truly not punishing religion, nor will it influence religious policy. We feel satisfied and happy about this. We also hope the Party’s religious policy won’t change. A’an Zhaxi’s behavior is his fault alone.

Member of Provincial People’s Political Consultative Conference Standing Committee, non-Party scholar Genqiu Dengzi said:

At the time theMiddleBridge was attacked, religious personages did not investigate. That is because religious believers use doing good works as a baseline. Once the case of A’an Zhaxi’s clique’s series of violent terrorist activities was broken, everyone reacted. There wasn’t anyone who sympathized, especially those in the religious world, who were very worried that they had produced this kind of person. The religious world worried about whether or not it [the clique’s actions] would influence future religious policy. A’an Zhaxi’s behavior went against his own religious discipline, against creed, and against the rules of the country. Everyone thinks that the crime fit the punishment. Now we just have to explain the crime to the masses and do a good job of educating them. At the time, China was developing well. Moreover, development was forging ahead. Although our hometown is still backward compared to the inner areas, these past two years have seen a big change. A minority of people who want to destroy this cannot realize their goals. Now we have many people who pretend to be Living Buddhas and are fooling people everywhere. This is not good for the development of religion. We need to do a good job propagandizing and educating people. There are people who want to tighten management. If we can decide these issues well, it will be advantageous for religion and for society’s stability.

Member of the Anjua Temple Administrative Conference Standing Committee Luo Zhaba said:

Now with freedom of religion and the opening of temples, when religion is helpful to people, this kind of bad person shows up. We need to do propaganda well because everybody worries that this [incident] will influence policies toward religion. A’an Zhaxi is a lama, but he can’t represent religion. The government dealt with him because he broke the law. This is not punishing religion. We believe the government will not, simply because there was such a man as A’an Zhaxi, change present and future policies toward religion. Now society is very complicated. We should administer well our own temples and monks. Social observations areplentiful. All kinds of people come to the temple. You don’t even know what they are really doing. So believe the government and take care of your own affairs well. This is key. Only if this happens can you be a patriotic and religious person.

Kangding County Catholic Priest Li Lun said:

A’an Zhaxi went against the interests of the religious masses by being a religious personage who didn’t strictly respect the rules of religion. Today the punishment against him is something he himself created. The punishment fits the crime. Now the country’s economy is growing strong. Our lives have experienced much change. The 16^th Party Congress clearly put forth that in the next 20 years we will achieve the goal of comparative wealth. While on this kind of magnificent path, there is a minority hostile force abroad that fears our country will become strong and prosperous. We will not continue “westernization” and “become divided.” Therefore, our religious personages want to grasp the opportunity created by this new path and create a good environment for the development of society. As to A’an Zhaxi’s separatism and his destroying the unity of the nation, I feel extreme indignation.

Also attending the conference were local religious personages from the Kangding Jingang Temple, the Anjue Temple, and the Nanwu Temple. Provincial United Front Minister Zhou Wenmang presided over the meeting. Provincial Committee United Front Work Department Vice Minister Jiangying Zeren, who is responsible for scientific administration at the United Front’s Provincial Committee and the Kangding County Committee, was in attendance.