民政部公佈400個山寨社團 八成帶國字頭

For those who want to add glamour to career life, becoming a member of a professional society may help. But copycats have sniffed out an opportunity to make money through fake professional societies and credentials in China.

對於那些想爲職業生涯增添光彩的人來說，成爲一個專業協會的會員也許會有所幫助。但是模仿犯已經發現了通過造假專業協會及證書來賺錢的機會。

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) has announced its latest list of fraudulent non-government organizations (NGOs) to help the public identify scammers.

中國國家民政部日前公佈了新一批招搖撞騙的社會組織的名單，以幫助公衆識別"山寨社團"。

The ministry's blacklist, published last month, identified more than 400 such groups operating on the Chinese mainland.

民政部上個月公佈的黑名單已確認了400多個在中國大陸運營的此類團體。

With official-sounding names such as "China International Calligrapher Society," "China Feng Shui Institute" or "China Luxury Association," scammers disguise themselves as respectable government-approved associations.

這些團體都有聽起來很官方的名字，比如“中國國際書法家協會”、“中國風水協會” 或者是“中國奢侈品協會”等。這些團體以此來僞裝成受人尊敬的政府批准的協會。

The unofficial societies charge fees ranging from 300 yuan to over 1,000 yuan for a membership.

這些非正規的社會團體收取300元至上千元不等的入會費。

More than 80 percent of the societies contain "China" or "national" in their names, and some were founded or registered overseas by Chinese nationals, according to the MCA.

民政部指出，超過8成的"山寨社團"的名稱包含"中國"、"全國"字樣，其中有些是由中國公民在海外成立或註冊的。

These societies sometimes even use the real names of government-backed associations and copy content from their official websites to appeal to members, said Ma Qingyu, an expert on social and cultural studies with the Chinese Academy of Governance.

國家行政學院社會和文化教研部專家馬慶鈺稱，"山寨社團"有時甚至利用政府支持的協會的真實名稱、從其官網複製內容以吸納會員。