CAS apologizes for Taoist ritual held in Gansu for nuclear project

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Monday apologized for a lamb-butchering Taoist ritual held at the founding ceremony of its nuclear project in Northwest China's Gansu Province and suspended two of its scientists who were present at the ritual but did nothing to stop it.



The CAS on Monday released a statement on its official Sina Weibo account apologizing for not restraining the behavior of its partner, claiming the ritual was "against the spirit of science."



Two employees of the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics under the CAS, He Zhanjun and Cao Yuxiang, were suspended on Monday after the institute found they were present at the ritual but did nothing to stop it.



The Thorium Molten Salt Reactor Nuclear Energy System (TMSR) is a project co-developed by the CAS and Gansu government, and will cost a total of 22 billion yuan ($3.48 billion).



Seven officials from Minqin county, Gansu Province have also been put under investigation by the local discipline watchdog after pictures of the ritual went viral. The photos showed a Taoist monk holding religious items and citing incantations while a lamb was being butchered in front of him and a pile of yellow papers with Taoist spells written on them were being burned.



The pictures have become an online sensation, as many netizens found it ironic that the most advanced technology still cannot rid the country of old and deeply-rooted superstition.





