Religious sites are last place for capitalist practices

By Chen Chenchen Source:Global Times Published: 2012-7-5 0:20:06

The stock market, which is supposed to be a place for optimizing capital relocation, has become a way to make quick cash in China. Now, this concept has hit the most sacred of places: religious pilgrimage sites.

China's most renowned Buddhist mountains are vying to go public and list shares in the capital market. In Zhejiang Province, the Putuo Mountain Tourism Development Co., Ltd, established in late May, plans to get listed on the A-share market and raise 750 million yuan ($118.12 million) within two years.

In Shanxi and Anhui provinces, efforts are also being made to list the tourist assets of Wutai and Jiuhua Buddhist mountains on stock exchanges. Compared with its three counterparts, Emei Mountain is a vanguard - the tourist development firm linked to it was listed early in 1997 and has reaped fat profits from the capital market.

These efforts are supported by local authorities. Dong Hongyun, secretary of CPC committee in Qizhou where Wutai Mountain is located, disclosed last year their two objectives of branding and listing Wutai Mountain in this backwater region. "One is to use capital means to realize low-cost expansion and better protect the heritage; the other is to transmit spiritual culture via pushing the tourist industry into the capital market."

The importance of these heritage sites to local economies is self-evident. Taking advantage of cultural assets to attract investment and create job opportunities has long been the mentality of grass-roots officials.

There are lots of gray areas in local economic policymaking, as many related rules are unclear or even non-existent at the moment. Take the controversial listing of tourist assets of these Buddhist mountains. Liu Wei, an official with the State Administration for Religious Affairs, criticized the behavior of leveraging Buddhist or Taoist temples for economic benefits, saying that there's no precedent for getting religious sites listed anywhere in the world.

In this vast nation which varies greatly from province to province, it is impractical to expect a sound, rule-based system to clearly define all the boundaries of local policies. It is in such circumstances that local officials need to build a consensus - there are certain bottom lines that they should not cross in developing the market economy.

In the latest case of Buddhist mountains going public, it is not only religious circles but also ordinary Chinese who feel offended that religious assets have become a source of local revenue.

It is morally unacceptable that one day when pilgrims travel all the way to these holy places, they are actually kneeling down before various listed corporations. These holy places are for people to redress their sins. This is the last place that should be preyed upon by capitalism. 



 

 



Posted in: Observer

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