Bringing abroad Buddhist relics kept in China is used as a tool for Chinese propaganda and for spreading the lie that the CCP promotes religious liberty.
by Zhu Yaozu
Until February 15, 2025, Thai Buddhists can venerate in Bangkok an important relic, a tooth of the Buddha. The relic comes from the Lingguang Temple in Beijing and arrived with great fanfare in Thailand on December 4.
The relic landed at Don Muang Military Airport and went to Bangkok through a boat parade and a procession.
There were two main speakers at the enshrinement ceremony. One was Thailand’s female Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The other was Chen Ruifeng, Deputy Minister of the United Front Work Department of the CCP Central Committee and Director of the State Administration of Religious Affairs. He was accompanied by Master Yanjue, the President of the government-controlled China Buddhist Association.
Interestingly, the relic’s trip to Thailand prepares a political rather than a religious event, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand in 2025.
Chen Ruifeng used the opportunity to promote the idea that China and Thailand are part of the same “family” and to hail the religious liberty allegedly enjoyed by Buddhists in China.
The United Front is engaged in a massive set of activities promoting the China Buddhist Association as a legitimate and leading Buddhist organization throughout the world. It is in fact a tool used by the United Front to keep Buddhists under control, slander the Dalai Lama, and propagate abroad the fabricated image of China as a country friendly to Buddhism and freedom of religion.
The Buddha’s tooth is becoming just another tool of this obnoxious CCP propaganda.
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
