民政部公布400个山寨社团 八成带国字头

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.

对于那些想为职业生涯增添光彩的人来说，成为一个专业协会的会员也许会有所帮助。但是模仿犯已经发现了通过造假专业协会及证书来赚钱的机会。

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

中国国家民政部日前公布了新一批招摇撞骗的社会组织的名单，以帮助公众识别"山寨社团"。

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

民政部上个月公布的黑名单已确认了400多个在中国大陆运营的此类团体。

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.

这些团体都有听起来很官方的名字，比如“中国国际书法家协会”、“中国风水协会” 或者是“中国奢侈品协会”等。这些团体以此来伪装成受人尊敬的政府批准的协会。

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

这些非正规的社会团体收取300元至上千元不等的入会费。

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，超过8成的"山寨社团"的名称包含"中国"、"全国"字样，其中有些是由中国公民在海外成立或注册的。

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.

国家行政学院社会和文化教研部专家马庆钰称，"山寨社团"有时甚至利用政府支持的协会的真实名称、从其官网复制内容以吸纳会员。