Ye Xiaowen, adviser to a religious delegation on a recent visit to the US from China, serves today a "course to treat" his American counterparts in a luncheon party held in his honor at an attached school of California University in Los Angeles. To his American hosts, Ye has made a very special speech of his own which, according to them, clapping their hands amidst loud peals of laughter to their guest speaker, they relish to their hearts' content.

At the luncheon party are many American religious leaders, personages and "China problem" specialists and scholars known in the US. Ye humorously told his American hosts that the Chinese people have by positioning themselves with a telescope from the other side of the Pacific to have seen many wonderful magnified things, giving USA in transliteration such a fine name as "Mei Guo", namely, a "Land of Beauty". The Chinese people have also from their side heard "many joyous happy songs and beautiful loud singing" from that part of the world, he added.

While from their side of the Pacific the American people are also with a magnified telescope in hand taking a distant look into China but by reversed lens and the distant scene presented to them is a totally negligible China. In the eyes of the US, it goes without doubt, China is just a "porcelain" going to fall into broken pieces. From their American counterparts a "demonised" China tone is also dinned along with such jarring tones as a "Report on China's Religion" and rumors about China's "repressing religion" as if China is irrevocably at a medieval time, a time of the Middle Ages. From his own experience Ye told his American hosts such a story: On a past visit to a remote small town in the US he and his colleagues had once been offered a warm welcome: A grand ceremony had been held in their honor as guests coming from afar. But soon after they had been honored they were congratulated on their "liberty regained from China". This unveils no doubt the ignorance and prejudice reigning in the US due to a lack of knowledge about things in China, not to say people's religious life in the country.

Ye Xiaowen continued to say "World Millennium Peace Conference" by religious leaders from various countries will be an opportune time for a visit by seven Chinese religious leaders in the US. It should be regarded as a fine favor from the "World Millennium Peace Conference" and a favor bestowed from the auspicious light of peace. He reiterated religious leaders in China and the US should make most of the light of their wisdom, sensibility, conscience and love to further promote exchanges between the peoples of China and the US. People must be helped to see things more clearly and practically towards the end for greater links to be built and mutual understanding deepened between the two countries, he said.

Ye Xiaowen advises his American counterparts better use no reverse lens to look at China for any prejudice against and mud smearing or uglifying of China and consequent misunderstanding, antagonism and hostility will wreak harm not only on the Chinese people but will also boomerang the American people. The way to rectify this is to hold dialogues in the place of confrontation or antagonism for an exchange of opinion to clear up suspicion. He hopes that since Chinese religious leaders' Los Angeles tour" a common effort will be made for some basis to be laid for a new cooperative prospect to be opened between China and the US.

(People's Daily 2000/08/25)