Shaolin Temple leader under investigation on suspicion of embezzling funds
The notice said multiple departments are conducting a joint investigation against Shi Yongxin, and relevant findings would be announced to the public in due course.
The fame of the Shaolin Temple, based in the central Chinese province of Henan, has gone beyond a religious institution.
It is also famous for its martial arts culture, or kung fu, which has been referenced in many movies and TV dramas, including the 1982 film The Shaolin Temple, starring martial arts superstar Jet Li.
The news about Shi Yongxin, whose original name Liu Yingcheng, ranked top on Chinese search engine Baidu and X-like social media platform Weibo on Sunday night.
Local media reported that the abbot had been hit by scandalous accusations in the past, including claims that he fathered several children and embezzled money. According to news outlet Caixin Global, provincial investigation reports exonerated him of all charges in 2016.
Shi Yongxin entered Shaolin Temple in 1981 and became its abbot in 1999, according to the temple's website. Xinhua in 2015 reported that he was known as a 'CEO monk,' as one of the first Chinese monks to obtain an MBA, and he had sparked controversy for developing commercial operations like lucrative kung fu shows and merchandise.
Earlier on Sunday, Chinese local media outlets reported that authorities had dismissed an online notice claiming Shi Yongxin was intercepted by authorities while trying to flee with his mistresses and children as fake.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Evil couple kill 12-year-old daughter by drugging and suffocating her
A cruel couple told police their daughter had disappeared from their family home - but it became clear they'd drugged and suffocated her, leaving her for dead on a country road To the outside world, they looked like the perfect family - Rosario Porto and her husband Alfonso Basterra were in their mid-30s when they adopted a baby girl. According to The Guardian, Punto, a lawyer from Santiago de Compostela, northern Spain, and Basterra, a journalist from the Basque Country, had had no trouble persuading local Spanish authorities that they would make good parents. The wealthy Spanish couple adopted Asunta Fong Yang as a baby, but when she was just 12 years old, she was found dead beside a country road. READ MORE: Man murdered by ex-girlfriend on Christmas Day tragically predicted his own death Porto even appeared on local television to share her wisdom and experience about adopting. At first, things were great - Asunta was so bright she skipped an academic year, and the family's privilege meant she could enjoy private classes in English, French, Chinese, ballet, violin, and piano. 'She once told us what her Saturdays were like,' Asunta's ballet teacher, an English woman named Gail Brevitt, recalled. 'She got up at 7 am, did Chinese from 8 until 10, came to ballet from 10.15 to 12.30, then did French until lunchtime. And then there was violin and piano.' To the outside world, everything looked like a dream. Carmen González, the family's cleaner and nanny, said: 'To me they seemed an idyllic family." But behind closed doors, things were far from perfect. In 2009, Porto spent two nights in a private psychiatric hospital, saying she felt suicidal, apathetic, and guilty. Then, in 2013, she and Basterra divorced after Porto lost both her parents in the preceding 18 months and admitted to having an affair. Despite their struggles, no one suspected they were capable of murdering the child they had adopted. But on September 22, 2013, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra reported Asunta missing. The police record noted that Asunta had been left at her mother's apartment doing her homework at 7 pm while Porto went to the family's country house 20 minutes away. Even though there was no physical evidence, such as fingerprints or fibres, linking Porto to the girl's corpse, the police had CCTV evidence from a camera at a petrol station near her apartment. The footage showed Porto driving the family's car towards their country house with a long-haired girl sitting beside her. The timecode revealed the footage had been taken at a time when, according to Porto's versions of events, Asunta was meant to be at home. When shown the video, Porto admitted the passenger was her daughter, but claimed Asunta felt ill and was later taken home. But police noted that when they had taken her to the country house hours after the body was found, the mum rushed towards a room that contained a wastepaper basket with bits of orange baler twine inside. The twine was similar to some found next to the body, which, investigators concluded, must have been used to tie Asunta's limbs together. However, forensic scientists were unable to prove bits found on the corpse came from the house. In addition to the CCTV footage, forensic results suggested Asunta had been drugged and then smothered. Tests of Asunta's blood and urine revealed toxic levels of lorazepam – the main active ingredient in the Orfidal pills that Porto had been prescribed to help with her anxiety attacks. Meanwhile, teachers at two music academies recalled that in the months before her death, Asunta had been unable to read her sheet music or walk straight. 'I took some white powders,' she told Isabel Bello, who ran one of the academies. 'I don't know what they are giving me. No one tells me the truth,' she complained to a violin teacher. Forensic scientists tested a strand of Asunta's hair and discovered the presence of lorazepam along the first three centimetres and concluded she had also been ingesting smaller doses of the drug for three months. Investigators believed Porto murdered Asunta, but she wouldn't have been able to lift the body alone, as she was slight and only 4ft 8in tall. In October 2015, the prosecution laid out its case before a jury, claiming the couple devised a plan to kill their own daughter – though they eventually downgraded the charges against Basterra, saying he was an accomplice to his ex-wife's murder plot. Asunta, the jury was told, had somehow been made to swallow at least 27 ground-up pills – nine times as powerful as a strong adult dose – on the day she died. The judge handed Basterra and Porto 18-year sentences, as the crime was committed before a new law introduced life sentences for child murderers. Both have appealed to have their convictions overturned.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Elon Musk's X says Online Safety Act that requires users to provide ID to show they are over 18 is 'putting free speech at risk'
Elon Musk 's X has warned that the Online Safety Act, which requires users to prove their age, is 'putting free speech at risk'. The new rules, seen by watchdogs as a way to protect children online, have sparked a furious backlash from thousands of users. The act forces platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and X, along with sites hosting pornography, to implement strict age verification measures to prove users are over 18. But critics are outraged, arguing that age checks are blocking access to large parts of the internet that have no business being grouped with adult content. To use platforms like X, users must surrender personal details such as credit card information, ID, or even facial scans, leading many to bypass the system altogether. X has now joined the chorus of criticism, warning that unless the act is amended to be more 'balanced', 'free speech will suffer'. The uproar has already seen nearly half a million people signing a petition demanding the act be scrapped as the n umber of users searches for VPN surged since the changes came into force. But a government spokesperson has dismissed these concerns, calling the claim that the law compromises free speech as 'demonstrably false,' insisting that it is 'not designed to censor political debate'. Critics argue that age checks are blocking access to large parts of the internet that have no business being grouped with adult content The dispute reached a fever pitch earlier this week when a senior Labour minister accused Reform's Nigel Farage of aligning with 'sick paedophiles' like Jimmy Savile during the ongoing clash over the law. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle went even further, accusing Farage of siding with 'extreme pornographers' over Reform UK's vow to scrap the act. Mr Farage labelled the comments 'disgusting' and demanded an apology, however Mr Kyle later doubled down on his remarks. Now X has joined the list of critics, saying: 'When lawmakers approved these measures, they made a conscientious decision to increase censorship in the name of 'online safety.' 'It is fair to ask if UK citizens were equally aware of the trade-off being made.' The platform claims the timeframe in which they were given to meet mandatory measures had been unnecessarily tight - and despite complying, sites still faced threats of enforcement and fines, 'encouraging over-censorship'. Adding: 'A balanced approach is the only way to protect individual liberties, encourage innovation and safeguard children. 'It's safe to say that significant changes must take place to achieve these objectives in the UK.' Peter Kyle also accused the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of being on the side of 'extreme pornographers' over the party's pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act Critics including Mr Farage claim that the law is being used to stifle free speech by blocking people from seeing some controversial political statements online Nearly half a million people have signed a petition against the Online Safety Act Ofcom said this week it had launched investigations into 34 pornography sites for new age-check requirements. It comes as Spotify users were left furious after they were told their accounts were at risk of being deleted if they fail to verify their age when trying to access videos marked 18+, with some urging users to stop using it. One user questioned: 'How old do you have to be to listen to music?', while another declared: 'I think I'm deleting payments to any company that ever sends me something like this.' Previously, campaign group, Big Brother Watch, also warned of the 'catastrophic effect on free speech online' that the Ofcom legislation could have with 'intrusive new age checks to access a range of websites'. Xbox have also followed suit, announcing they too will be investing in technologies and tools to ensure players have age-appropriate experiences on their platform, while sending notifications to UK users to verify their age. A Government spokesperson said: 'It is demonstrably false that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech. 'As well as legal duties to keep children safe, the very same law places clear and unequivocal duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression. Failure to meet either obligation can lead to severe penalties, including fines of up to 10% of global revenue or £18 million, whichever is greater. 'The Act is not designed to censor political debate and does not require platforms to age gate any content other than those which present the most serious risks to children such as pornography or suicide and self-harm content. 'Platforms have had several months to prepare for this law. It is a disservice to their users to hide behind deadlines as an excuse for failing to properly implement it.'
Daily Mirror
15 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Biggest ever drug dealer named as Royal Family member who overshadowed Pablo Escobar
Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years but the monarch was also major player in the opium trade, and she has now been named the biggest drug dealer in history by Time magazine Queen Victoria, an English monarch, has been dubbed the greatest drug kingpin in history. The Queen was known for her fondness for alcohol, particularly a peculiar blend of whisky and red wine. However, long before the birth of notorious drug lord Joaquín Guzmán (El Chapo) and Pablo Escobar, Victoria had a well-known interest in drugs. One of her preferred beverages was Vin Mariani, a concoction made by infusing cocoa leaves in French red wine, to which cocaine was added. According to the BBC, Victoria, who ascended to the throne at the tender age of 18 in 1837, is said to have enjoyed 'cocaine gum' with a young Winston Churchill. It's worth noting that cocaine was legal at the time, and Europeans were starting to experiment with this new substance. Cocaine chewing gum was touted as a self-esteem booster and a remedy for toothaches. The queen also believed it was a health drug with no adverse effects. Victoria, who presided over the British Empire, also used a liquid form of cannabis for menstrual pain and chloroform during childbirth. Tony McMahon, writing in Smithsonian magazine, stated: "Queen Victoria, I think by any standard, she loved her drugs." In addition to cocaine and cannabis, Victoria also consumed a glass of laudanum every morning, a mixture of opium (the dried residue of poppies) and alcohol. And it was her connection with opium that saw her branded the biggest drug dealer in history by Time magazine, who even claimed she made "Escobar and El Chapo look like low-level street dealers". The young monarch encountered conflict with China from the earliest moments of her reign. The Chinese supplied tea-loving Brits with their favourite beverage, but there was nothing to exchange in return, meaning only one nation was making money. Yet opium quickly became the solution, and it was conveniently cultivated in British-controlled India. Consequently, the British East India Company conducted business with China throughout Victoria's rule. This opium commerce wasn't unprecedented, but according to Time, it "grew exceptionally" following her ascension to the throne. Opium was considered a valuable painkiller, so the British East India Company reaped enormous profits from it, particularly when the Chinese became dependent, making them prepared to pay increasingly higher prices for the habit-forming substance. Following this reversal in economic power from China to Britain, the Chinese chose to clamp down on the narcotic, which was illegal in the nation but this was typically overlooked. This ultimately sparked the notorious Opium Wars. Academic Lin Zexu penned a letter directly to Queen Victoria declaring it was unethical to be saturating China with substances that were causing millions of their "elites" to become addicted. However, the drug trade reportedly accounted for up to 20% of the empire's annual revenue, so the aforementioned letter was never even opened. According to AlJazeera, a Chinese official wrote: "He who sells opium shall receive the death penalty and he who smokes it also the death penalty." Victoria was soon compelled to address the escalating situation after Lin Zexu ordered the interception of a fleet of British ships in 1839, before a staggering amount of opium (2.5 million pounds) was dumped into the South China Sea. Victoria declared war on China (known as the First Opium War), resulting in the deaths of thousands of Chinese citizens. Utterly defeated, a "peace treaty" was signed, which saw Britain take control of Hong Kong and more opium ports were established in the region. This brutal defeat, during Victoria's reign, was seen as the "century of humiliation" for China. Despite the loss of innocent lives, Victoria, who ruled for 63 years, ruthlessly ensured the opium money kept flowing. It was for this reason that she has been labelled by Time as the most powerful and successful drug lord in history.
