Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 4 (Reporters Hu Mengxue and Shi Yucen) The 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress voted to pass the newly revised Cultural Relics Protection Law on November 8, 2024, which will come into effect on March 1 this year. After more than 20 years of revision, on the basis of maintaining the stability of the basic framework system for cultural relics protection, the number of articles increased from 8 chapters to 8 chapters and 101 chapters, with 19 additions and 75 modifications.
What new concepts and new measures are worth paying attention to? The reporter interviewed relevant experts and industry insiders.
The protection intensity has been unprecedentedly increased
The study and publicity outline of the "Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" recently issued by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China pointed out that keeping pace with the times is an important feature of the Cultural Relics Protection Law.
This time, the Cultural Relics Protection Law has been revised, and the results of cultural relics protection and utilization reform that have been proven effective through practice have been upgraded to a legal system, adding a "investigation first, construction later" protection mechanism for underground cultural relics "articles first, and then transfer"; adding a system for underground cultural relics buried areas and underwater cultural relics protection areas; increasing the protection of unrated immovable cultural relics, etc. Ma Zishu, former deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that the newly revised Cultural Relics Protection Law further improved the cultural relics protection management system and built a solid legal barrier for the "all that should be protected" of cultural relics.
The third national cultural relics survey shows that the total number of unmovable cultural relics in my country exceeds 600,000, accounting for about 80% of the total number of unmovable cultural relics.
"Ungraded immovable cultural relics have a large amount of unmovable areas, heavy protection tasks and great pressure. The revised Cultural Relics Protection Law has taken multiple measures to strengthen protection." Jin Ruiguo, director of the Policy and Regulations Department of the State Administration of Cultural Relics, said that, first, clarify the protection requirements and stipulate that ungraded immovable cultural relics are registered and announced by the cultural relics administrative department of the county-level people's government, and make sign descriptions, establish record files, and clarify the person responsible for management. The second is to clearly require the formulation of unrated immovable cultural relics protection measures and include them in relevant plans. The third is to clarify the original site protection measures and relevant approval procedures, and stipulate that the original site protection measures for unrated immovable cultural relics shall be submitted to the cultural relics administrative department of the county-level people's government for approval; if it is necessary to relocate and protect or demolish it, it shall be submitted to the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial people's government for approval.
In recent years, my country has continuously strengthened the work of recovering and returning lost Chinese cultural relics overseas, successfully prompting more than 2,100 pieces (sets) of lost cultural relics to return to their hometown.
"The newly revised Cultural Relics Protection Law clarifies the right to recourse and relevant procedures for lost Chinese cultural relics abroad in the law for the first time, and states that my country reserves the right to reclaim cultural relics lost to foreign countries due to theft and illegal exit of the country, and that the right is not subject to time limit." Zhong Ming, a full-time researcher at the China Cultural Relics Exchange Center, said that multiple measures have been taken to weave a dense legal network for the protection of cultural relics, improve legal responsibilities, and provide strong legal support for my country to carry out the recovery and return of cultural relics.
Promote the effective use
The newly revised Cultural Relics Protection Law insists on better play the role of cultural relics in the museum, and makes it clear that cultural relics collection units should improve service conditions and improve service levels. By holding exhibitions, scientific research, cultural creativity and other activities, we will strengthen publicity and education on the excellent historical and cultural and revolutionary traditions of the Chinese nation.
"In recent years, my country's museum system has been continuously improved and perfected, and the value of cultural relics in the collection has been explored and explained in depth. Museums have become an important place to show the long-standing and profound Chinese civilization." Liu Yanchang, director of Shandong Museum, believes that the newly revised Cultural Relics Protection Law vigorously promotes the bringing of cultural relics to life, fully reflecting the concept of cultural relics created by the people, enjoyed for the people, and inherited by the people, and better meet the people's growing spiritual and cultural needs.
The modernization of cultural relics management needs to be adapted to the development of science and technology and the application of information technology.
Zhu Kongqiang, deputy director of the China Cultural Relics Information Consulting Center, said that this revision is the first time that my country has clearly strengthened the digitalization and informatization of cultural relics in the form of law, which is of far-reaching significance. Looking to the future, we will use digital means to realize the cultural relics industry resources to be presented, use network means to realize the controllable cultural relics protection work, and use intelligent means to achieve more scientific and well-founded decisions on cultural relics management, which will provide strong support for promoting the modernization of my country's governance system and governance capabilities in the field of cultural relics.
Gather the whole society to mobilize the strength of the whole society
The public pays great attention to the revision of the Cultural Relics Protection Law and puts forward many opinions and suggestions. The revised Cultural Relics Protection Law strengthens cultural relics protection publicity and education, public opinion supervision, science and technology and talent support, international exchanges and cooperation.
Liang Ying, director of the Administrative Law Office of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, introduced that the revision clearly states to improve the social participation mechanism, mobilize social forces to participate in the protection of cultural heritage, and encourage and guide social forces to invest in cultural heritage protection.
"Let all relevant parties in the implementation of the law know, understand and familiarize themselves with the content stipulated by the law, promote the comprehensive and effective implementation of the law, and protect, promote and develop the treasures of Chinese civilization left over from vicissitudes." Liang Ying believes that the Cultural Relics Protection Law should be included in the content of legal publicity, and use important nodes such as International Museum Day and Cultural and Natural Heritage Day to innovate communication methods, increase publicity efforts, enhance the awareness of cultural relics protection for all, and mobilize social forces to participate in cultural relics protection.
The vitality of law lies in implementation. According to reports, promoting the publicity and implementation of the Cultural Relics Protection Law has been included in the 2025 work points of the State Administration of Cultural Relics.
Jin Ruiguo said that the State Administration of Cultural Heritage will organize training and publicity for the Cultural Relics Protection Law, and through holding special training classes on the Cultural Relics Protection Law, youth backbone classes on the Cultural Relics Protection Law, and touring publicity, and carrying out the first National College Student Cultural Relics Protection Law Mock Court, etc., we will help cultural relics system staff, practitioners in the cultural relics field and the public to promptly know, accurately grasp, effectively implement, and consciously abide by relevant regulations.
