Number of seminaries on increase

MANILA: The number of Protestant seminaries in China has increased from one to 18 in the past decade, a senior member of the China Christian Council said yesterday.

"The rapid development is testament to China's policy of religious freedom," Gao Ying, vice-president of the council, told China Daily in Manila.

The seminaries, similar to non-religious institutions, offer four-year bachelor degree courses and a further three years for those wishing to take a master's.