Fan Liqing, a spokesperson from the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, has disclosed at a press conference that Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation has been approved to set up a branch in mainland China.
Fan said that in accordance with the relevant clauses of the Foundation Management Rule, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs has approved Tzu Chi Foundation's application for establishing a branch on the mainland.
Fan said that Tzu Chi Foundation's mainland branch would be managed by State Administration for Religious Affairs and it is the first foundation in China whose legal representative is not a Chinese mainland citizen. The establishment of the foundation is expected to play an important role in bridging the communications and exchanges between charity organizations in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation is a non-profit organization set up in 1966 by Dharma Master Cheng Yen in Taiwan.
