China brought some 500 Zen Buddhist delegates from around the world to Dahongshan Ci’en Temple, high on a sacred mountain in Hubei province. The monks were urged to study paramount leader Xi Jinping’s keynote speech on the 10th anniversary of his Belt and Road Initiative of development lending. Critics said the gathering of Zen practitioners from Belt and Road countries was a Communist Party United Front event aimed at persuading the world that China guarantees religious liberty.
