The Fall of Shaolin Temple’s CEO Monk: A Window Into Beijing’s State Control of Religion

Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Shaolin Temple, walks to breakfast at Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, China, on April 6, 2005. Cancan Chu/Getty Images

Commentary

Shi Yongxin, the longtime head of China’s renowned Shaolin Temple, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison. He is not an isolated case. Behind him lies the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) systematic reshaping and erosion of religious faith. This pattern can be traced throughout the history of the People’s Republic of China.