Temple declared a national site

Temple declared a national site

HANOI (Reuter): Vietnam said yesterday that a 395-year-old
temple in Hue, known as a seat of Buddhist dissent, had been
officially declared a national heritage site.

The announcement, carried in state newspapers, followed
warnings by an overseas Buddhist watchdog group that Hanoi was
seeking to take control of the Linh Mu temple, a treasured
monument of Vietnamese Buddhism.

The English-language Vietnam News said senior clergymen had
been handed a certificate of recognition by government officials
during a ceremony on Wednesday attended by Buddhist monks,
followers and local villagers.

The immediate effect of the move was not clear, but an
official at the National UNESCO Committee in Hanoi said the
decision meant the Culture Ministry would fund preservation work
and determine the temple's future usage.