A Taiwan Buddhist charity set up shop in China on Friday, a sign of the atheist Communist rulers' growing but still limited religious tolerance and part of a drive to win the hearts and minds of Taiwanese.
The Tzu Chi Foundation opened its China chapter in the form of a bookshop-cum-tea house in the historic eastern city of Suzhou in Jiangsu province, a popular investment choice for the Taiwanese companies which have pumped billions into the country.
Officials say Tzu Chi is the first overseas non-governmental organisation to receive the Ministry of Civil Affairs' blessing to operate in China. Normally they have to register with the Commerce Ministry as businesses.
But it is barred from preaching and cannot raise funds from ordinary Chinese without government approval on an ad hoc basis.
"We will not make it a point to preach when we do charity work on the mainland, but if people ask me my religion, I will say I'm Buddhist," foundation spokesman Rey-sheng Her told Reuters.
"We will use compassion to care for every suffering person and enlighten them to use love to help others," said Her, a former Taiwan television news anchor.
The opening of Tzu Chi's China chapter, housed in a traditional courtyard, was attended by Chen Yunlin, China's top negotiator with self-ruled and democratic Taiwan.
"The two sides of the (Taiwan) strait need this spiritual bridge ... so that they can live in harmony," Chen said.
The Communist Party sees religion as a rival for the loyalty of the Chinese people and has maintained tight control over beliefs since taking power in 1949.
The Party has sought to use religion to help curb rising social unrest and fill an ideological vacuum in the post-Mao Zedong era which has eroded ethics and spawned graft.