Two Chinese physicists have been dismissed for taking part in Taoist ritual at building site

Beijing. May 3. Silkroadnews - In China, two employees of the state research Institute have been fired and punished on a party line for participating in the Taoist ritual at the construction site of the experimental thorium reactor of the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics in Wuwei, Gansu Province, the South China Morning Post reports.
The Institute is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the country’s top state research and development body.
Photos and video materials posted on the Internet show a man - apparently a farmer - dressed as a Taoist priest, “ridding the site of evil” at the construction site of the thorium reactor. After that, the Institute was criticized for carrying out the religious ritual and was forced to make public apologies, as all religious activity in China is under the close attention and control of the Communist Party.
In its statement, the institute said that two of its employees have been dismissed and subjected to disciplinary punishment on the party line. Although none of them took an active part in the ritual, they failed to stop the ceremony.
“This activity has created a negative influence on society. We recognize our mistake, and hereby express our deep apologies to our colleagues in society,” the agency quoted institute’s statement.
Reportedly, the deputy director of the management committee of the industrial district, and seven other public officials who attended the ceremony were subjected to government disciplinary action.