Bangkok News, Oct 21 — With only 55 days to go before the opening of the 13th Belt and Road International Day (Silkworm God’s Day) and the Global Chinatown Belt and Road New Year Celebration, the Bangkok Workstation of Belt and Road International Day Volunteers convened a preparation meeting for the First China-Thailand Cocoa Ribbon Ball Friendly Match to steadily carry out supporting cultural and public welfare activities. Chen Entian, Chairman of the Silk Road International Guild Alliance, travelled to Bangkok to attend the meeting, arrange relevant preparatory work, and share important visions on cross-border cultural public welfare cooperation and anti-fraud initiatives between China, Thailand and Myanmar.
During the meeting, Chen Entian disclosed plans to cooperate with Buddhist Sanghas in Southeast Asia to push forward the planning and construction of the Heavenly Silkworm Temple. The temple is designed to enrich the cultural connotation of Belt and Road International Day (Silkworm God’s Day). It will serve as a permanent place for Buddhist believers along the routes to pay homage, make wishes, light lamps and pray for blessings. Rooted in traditional blessing culture, it aims to unite people, foster good-neighbourly relations, deepen people-to-people exchanges under the Belt and Road Initiative and consolidate the friendly foundation of cross-border neighbourhoods.
When talking about cross-border social governance and anti-fraud public welfare work, Chen Entian shared his aspiration to eradicate telecom and online fraud along the Thailand-Myanmar border. He said he had dreamed of the Southern Heavenly Buddha, who entrusted him with the mission to build a Demon Suppression Pagoda inside the planned Heavenly Silkworm Temple, so as to support border anti-fraud governance through virtuous culture and belief guidance.
Chen Entian acknowledged that he is not a Buddhist. Raised with materialist education, he adheres to scientific concepts and only prays together with his mother out of respect. Still, the dream felt extraordinarily real and the Buddha’s words remained fresh in his mind. He believes that apart from profit motives, blind compliance, fluke mentality and loss of moral beliefs among some local residents are key factors behind the persistent telecom and online fraud along the Thailand-Myanmar border. Building such a blessing pagoda at the Heavenly Silkworm Temple responds to the good wishes of Buddhist people in Thailand and Myanmar, forming positive public guidance and spiritual deterrence through virtuous traditional culture.
He explained that the pagoda could dissuade and intimidate those participating in or shielding telecom and online fraud from the perspective of spiritual belief. It helps break the fluke mindset and warped beliefs of fraud perpetrators, gradually eroding the ideological soil sustaining the telecom and online fraud industry. As soft support for cross-border anti-fraud governance between China, Thailand and Myanmar and for cleaning up border social order, this civil cultural initiative complements official anti-fraud efforts and contributes to a safe, harmonious and stable cross-border environment.
Regarding the name of the pagoda, Chen Entian put forward a flexible and inclusive plan. The structure does not have to be named Demon Suppression Pagoda. Subject to local customs and the wishes of believers, alternative names such as Peace Pagoda, Heavenly Silkworm Pagoda or Moral Guardian Pagoda may be adopted. This balances implied meaning, public acceptance and international communication, and better conveys the vision of peaceful co-construction and benevolent coexistence under the Belt and Road Initiative.
This vision integrates temple cultural construction with cross-border anti-fraud public welfare work. It marks an innovative practice where people-to-people Belt and Road exchanges empower social governance. It enriches the spiritual connotation of Silkworm God’s Day and blazes a new civil path for cross-border security development and the spread of virtuous civilisation in Southeast Asia.
