China opens inquiry system about Islamic, Christian clerics

BEIJING – China has launched a digital inquiry system to help citizens find out information about registered religious leaders.

The online inquiry system for Islamic and Christian clergy was launched on Tuesday.

According to the state-run Global Times newspaper, the move was aimed to promote openness of religious affairs and the identification and management of clergy.

The newspaper further reports that the management of clerical personnel will combat fraud and discourage false religious personnel.

A similar information retrieval system has already been introduced for Buddhist and Taoist clergy.

People must now log on to the websites of the Chinese Islamic Association, the Catholic Church of China, the China Christian Council, and the State Bureau of Religious Affairs to check on registered clergy.

They can be found either by entering the name on the ID card, the religious title, or by entering a specific city.

If the person was the clergy identified and registered in accordance with the laws, the information including the name, gender, photo, religious title, religious sect, clerical identity and clerical ID number will be presented. 

If not, the system will indicate that the person’s information was not found, said the newspaper report. 

The state-run newspaper explained that in recent years, there have been repeated cases of fraud involving fake religious personnel.

Such incidents have seriously damaged the image of religious groups and disrupted social and public order, it said.

According to the newspaper, in eastern China’s Shandong province, a person was sentenced to 25 years in prison for faking an identity as a living Buddha of Tibetan Buddhism.

According to the report, the cleric, identified as Wang Xingfu, allegedly amassed nearly $29.11 million and raped or molested several female students.