By Central for China Analysis and Strategy
POLITICAL
TAR Party Secretary Says Temples Must Be Propaganda Centres
April 03, 2015
Writing in the April 3, 2015 issue of the influential fortnightly Party magazine ‘Qiushi’ (Seeking Truth), the Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Chen Quanguo asserted that “Buddhist temples and monasteries in Tibet must become propaganda centres for the ruling Communist Party, where monks and nuns learn to “revere” science and appreciate the party’s love”. He said China, which “peacefully liberated” Tibet in 1950, guarantees the freedom of religion and its rule ended serfdom and brought development to a backward, poverty-stricken region. TAR Party Secretary Chen Quanguo said the government must see the more than 1,700 temples and monasteries and 46,000 monks and nuns as “friends” and wrote: “Let the monks and nuns in the temples and monasteries have a personal feeling of the party and government’s care and warmth; let them feel the party’s benevolence, listen to the party’s words and follow the party’s path.” He called for temples and monasteries in the region to be outfitted with radios and televisions, as well as newspapers and reading rooms.[Source] or [PDF]