High-ranking Chinese monk accused of sexually harassing nuns
Xuecheng is the abbot of the well-known Longquan Temple and has more than one million followers on Chinese social network website Weibo
A high-ranking monk in China has denied allegations that he sexually harassed nuns.
China's religious affairs administration said it would investigate claims that Xuecheng, the abbot of the well-known Longquan Temple on the outskirts of Beijing, had sent explicit text messages to nuns claiming they could be "purified" through physical contact and that sex was part of their study of religious doctrines.
He has denied the allegations and posted a statement from the temple on his Weibo microblog account saying the allegations stemmed from "fabricated material" and "distorted facts".
Xuecheng has more than one million followers on the Chinese social network Weibo, is the head of the Buddhist Association of China and is a member of the Communist Party's top political advisory body.
The allegations against him were outlined in a 95-page document prepared by two former monks at the monastery.
The document swiftly went viral on Chinese social media amid a wave of other allegations that stoked heated debate and saw China's fledgling #MeToo movement gain momentum.
The monastery, in its statement, acknowledged that the document was prepared by two former monks and that it reserved the right to take legal action against them.
China's State Administration for Religious Affairs said in a statement that it had started an investigation and was treating it as a matter of "high importance".
The Chinese Buddhist Association did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Agencies contributed to this report