China foils fake Kung Fu masters
The real Shaolin monks are famed for their martial arts skills
The Chinese authorities say they have foiled a plot to smuggle immigrants abroad disguised as martial arts performers from the Shaolin Temple.
Twelve young men were trained in traditional lion dancing and given fake passports before joining real monks going abroad, Xinhua news agency said.
They were caught trying to cross the border into Hong Kong.
Among the three people arrested accused of trafficking were said to be at least one coach and a "snakehead" smuggler.
＇Innocent victim＇
It is estimated that every year tens of thousands of Chinese people, many from the coastal province of Fujian, pay large sums to gangs to be smuggled abroad to look for work.
Xinhua, China＇s official news agency, quoted a policeman in the eastern city of Changle, where the 12 men originally came from, as saying the Shaolin Temple had been an innocent victim of the conspirators.
The temple "had nothing to do with it", he said.
The 12 would-be immigrants, aged 17-19, were charged up to $90,000 (£45,000) for passage out of the country, Xinhua said. The group was reportedly headed for Canada.
The 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple in central China＇s Henan province has fought hard against exploitation by martial arts schools, films, and consumer products.
It became known in the West as the training ground for Kwai Chang Caine, played by David Carradine, in Bruce Lee＇s 1970s Kung Fu television series.
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