China expands website for religious workers in latest move to tighten control
- It now covers all five state-sanctioned religions – Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism
- Public can access details of workers who have been approved and registered by the government
The website was launched in February, giving the public access to information on Buddhist and Taoist monks and clerics.
The Communist Party’s United Front Work Department – which oversees religious activities in China – said at the time that the website could help to expose fraud being carried out by rogue Buddhist and Taoist monks.
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It was expanded on Tuesday to cover all priests, nuns, pastors, clerics and other workers in government-approved Catholic, Protestant and Islamic institutions.
Their details – name, gender, photo, religion and denomination, position within the organisation and a government-issued registration number – are all publicly available on the website. Users must provide a telephone number to search for information on the site.
Religious workers who have not been approved and registered by the government are not listed.
The United Front Work Department in February said releasing this information was a way to make religious organisations more self-disciplined. It said the move could help to crack down on fake nuns and monks, amid reports of extortion and sexual abuse by impersonators.
