China's Cultural Heritage Protection Law has been in effect for over 40 years since its initial promulgation in 1982, with one revision made in 2002. Since the start of the new century, political, social, economic, and technological changes have been rapid. The current Cultural Heritage Protection Law shows significant shortcomings, unable to meet the demands of the new era. As a result, there have been continual calls for revisions.
Consequently, the State Council proposed amendments to the law and solicited opinions from stakeholders and various levels of society. After over a year's effort, on October 20th, the initial opinions were collected, with over 1,300 individuals or groups offering more than 3,100 amendments. These opinions are critical as they reflect essential changes to align with new societal needs in the new era. It is estimated that the National People's Congress will pass the amendments by mid-next year. What are the key points of these revisions? Can they adapt to and enhance the demands for cultural heritage protection in the new era? Today, I will provide a brief overview to help readers gain a basic understanding of the Cultural Heritage Law.
The country has made significant achievements in political, economic, technological, and cultural development during the past 40 years of reform and opening-up. Chinese culture has a long history, with 5,000 years of civilization and a vast heritage of historical relics. Strengthening the protection and inheritance of outstanding traditional cultural heritage has become a significant task. Raising public awareness and identification with traditional culture is of great importance to the country's cohesion and influence.
What is cultural heritage protection? Cultural heritage encompasses the tangible cultural heritage created by the wisdom of the people under national social and economic development. Famous examples include the Hongshan Culture, Liangzhu Culture, and Bronze Culture of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and the Sanxingdui relics. These represent excellent traditional cultural relics that should be protected by the state. Cultural heritage differs from intangible cultural concepts, which can include theoretical and conceptual elements such as Confucian and Buddhist philosophies.
The draft revision of the China's Cultural Heritage Protection Law (for public consultation) outlines major changes in four areas:
- *Strengthen cultural heritage protection, adhering to socialist leadership*
This chapter focuses on how to strengthen the leadership of the Communist Party in protecting cultural heritage. The current cultural heritage market is very chaotic, with difficulties in distinguishing genuine items from counterfeits and rampant fraud. In addition to traditional appraisal methods, scientific authentication is an essential direction for improvement. The state should establish standards for the appraisal of cultural heritage and establish authoritative authentication agencies in various provinces and autonomous regions. This will provide a more objective standard for identifying genuine cultural relics, aiding in their protection. Additionally, the creation of more state or private museums should be supported.
2. *Enhance appropriate utilization and display to facilitate cultural dissemination*
The consultation emphasizes the importance of enhancing public understanding of art and historical cultural heritage. Besides traditional museum exhibitions, digital displays of cultural heritage are a new direction with the development of the internet, big data, and blockchain technology. Efforts are being made on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, particularly by the National Palace Museum. New scientific technologies help improve public awareness of cultural heritage and enhance its influence. Additionally, exhibitions and displays in museums remain crucial. As an enthusiast of cultural heritage, I am very interested in the standards, processes, and practical applications of cultural heritage restoration. If major museums can provide such opportunities for observation, it would be a significant improvement.
3. *Strengthen penalties for violations of cultural heritage protection*
Unearthed cultural relics are state-owned and should not be privately hoarded. This primarily addresses grave robbing, private sales of cultural relics, and various illegal transfers. The draft revision proposes fines ranging from 1,000,000 yuan (individuals) to 10,000,000 yuan (organizations), indicating a correct approach towards increasing penalties. This aspect should align with relevant provisions of the criminal law.
4. *Further regulate the circulation of cultural relics and enhance market supervision*
The law stipulates that all unearthed cultural relics belong to the state and cannot be bought or sold privately. However, in the over 100 years since the Republic of China period, various types of unearthed cultural relics have entered the hands of private collectors through different channels. If collectors face suppression and are unable to buy or sell through legal channels domestically, precious cultural relics may end up abroad, which would be counterproductive. Facilitating the circulation of private collections can greatly aid in cultural heritage protection. Historical issues should be appropriately resolved; otherwise, numerous unearthed cultural relics may be lost to private collections, resulting in a lack of proper protection and recognition.
Given the high value of art and cultural relics, the prevalence of counterfeit and replica items disrupts the market. Such practices should be appropriately curbed. Strengthening cultural heritage management at all levels is critical.
As times change and the country's development needs evolve, we must pay more attention to protecting historical and cultural heritage. The draft revision of the China's Cultural Heritage Protection Law includes 27 additional articles based on the existing law, such as establishing the purpose of legislation under the Party's leadership, strengthening protection and utilization, enhancing protection structures, and increasing circulation of cultural relics. These measures are all crucial for cultural heritage protection! I believe that if there are no significant issues, this draft revision will be accepted and become the new law. It will have profound implications for enhancing cultural heritage protection and utilization, increasing cultural identification and pride among the people, and expanding China's cultural influence internationally.
Author
Mr. Robert T Li graduated from the Economics Department of the University of Hong Kong and has served as the Head of Liability Insurance in the Greater China region for an international insurance company. He has a passion for traditional Chinese culture and enjoys collecting art. He is actively involved in promoting awareness of traditional Chinese culture, music, and art among young people. He can be contacted at litaichai@gmail.com.
Uploaded on 2024.4.20