Overview
- A court in Xinxiang convicted Shi Yongxin, born Liu Yingcheng, on charges including embezzlement, misappropriation and bribery and sentenced him to 24 years in prison with a 3.5 million yuan fine.
- The court detailed multi-decade misuses of temple funds, saying Shi embezzled more than 131 million yuan, misappropriated over 151 million yuan and accepted construction-related assets worth about 11 million yuan.
- Judges said Shi used his roles as Shaolin Temple abbot and president of the Shaolin Charity Welfare Foundation to divert money, offer more than 5 million yuan to state functionaries for improper benefits, and secure favours for projects.
- Shi pleaded guilty, confessed additional crimes to investigators, expressed remorse and told the court he would not appeal, after being removed from his post and defrocked by the Buddhist Association of China in July 2025.
- The sentence, announced on Friday, May 29, 2026, has drawn public approval on Chinese social platforms and raises questions about the commercialization of Shaolin, the temple’s reputation, and tighter state oversight of religious bodies.