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Official identification system helps spot fake religious venues

Xinhua, January 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Chinese government has made significant efforts since last year to help the public identify all Buddhist and Taoist temples in the country in order to differentiate real and fake religious sites.

Wang Zuo'an, head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), on Thursday said religious watchdogs have been making efforts to prevent fake clergy from taking advantage of people for personal profit.

The SARA also completed an official database system at the end of last year, which contains information on 33,652 genuine Buddhist monasteries and 8,269 Taoist temples, Wang said.

The system will be open to the public for inquiry and supervision to help religious believers and tourists avoid being cheated by fake religious venues, Wang said.

The administration said it has also launched a registration system for clerical staff. Various religions in China have their own election, evaluation and appointment systems for high-ranking clergy and abbots. Endi