The Chinese mainland's religious head arrived in Taiwan Friday noon to participate in Buddhist ritual prayer for typhoon victims, saying the proposed Dalai Lama visit to the island was "politically motivated."
Ye Xiaowen, head of the China Religious Culture Communication Association, was taking up an invitation from Venerable Wei Chueh of Taiwan's Chung Tai Chan Monastery.
He will also attend a charity performance by mainland artists at the Chung Tai Chan Monastery Friday night.
Ye told reporters at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after arriving that the proposed Dalai Lama visit to Taiwan by some politicians from the island's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was a political move.
The Dalai Lama had not been invited by the island's Buddhists, and the invitation from the DPP politicians was "politically motivated," said Ye.
Seven Taiwan mayors and county chiefs from the DPP Wednesday invited the Dalai Lama to visit the island.
"What we need at this moment is not politics, but disaster relief," said Ye.
He said people on the mainland were very concerned about Taiwan's losses because of Typhoon Morakot.
Ye's association has donated tens of millions of yuan to Taiwan to help with typhoon relief.
(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2009)
