Three boys play a game in a welfare house in this 2013 file photo in Rizhao, Shandong province.[Photo/icpress.cn]
Chinese officials have ruled that religious groups should not force abandoned or orphaned children they adopt to follow their faith, Chinanews.com reported Monday.
In a notice jointly issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and State Administration for Religious Affairs, it was noted that religious groups have greatly contributed to helping abandoned children, but problems concerning methods of care and education have also arisen.
The notice stipulates that religious groups eligible for children adoption must be registered, including their facilities and personnel. No unregistered groups or individuals will be allowed to take in abandoned or orphaned children in the name of religion.
To be eligible for registration, groups must demonstrate stable financial resources, standardized fire safety and health conditions, and other requirements for child care.
Religious groups that meet the criteria can either file an application for a contract with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, or register to be an adopter, to continue providing adoption services under the new rules.
Civil and religious affairs officials will help eligible religious entities without qualified adoption conditions to improve infrastructure and meet the standards, the notice said.
For religious groups that cannot meet qualified adoption conditions after rectification work, and those who refuse to sign a cooperation contract with officials or register to be an adopter, their services will be shut down by civil affairs, religious affairs and police officials.
According to officials from China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, China had 878 private adoption organizations at the end of 2013, of which 583 were from a religious background.
Chinese private adoption organizations held 9,394 abandoned infants, about one tenth of those in government-sponsored orphanages, reported a publication sponsored by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission on Oct 29 last year.
