Xi Yanchun:
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to today’s policy briefing. Preservation of cultural relics bears special significance in China, a highly civilized country with a very long history, and this week’s State Council executive meeting discussed this issue. Today I am so grateful to have Gu Yucai, vice-minister of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, to brief us on it. Zhu Xiaodong, director of policy and regulation department under the administration, is also attending the policy briefing.
Now let’s invite Mr Gu to introduce the topic.
Gu Yucai:
Good morning, everyone, I’m very glad to attend this policy briefing. The State Council executive meeting on Feb 24 passed a policy document concerning protection of cultural relics, and we are making improvements to it, which will be released very soon. The document makes clear guiding concepts, basic principles, major goals and detailed measures concerning protection of cultural relics. It is regarded as a framework document in this field at present and in the near future. At the beginning of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to and make scientific judgment on challenges faced by cultural relic protection, and these efforts will greatly promote its development.
In recent years, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have repeatedly given instructions on cultural relic preservation, spelling out a clear direction for its development. As a result, protection of cultural heritages in China did achieve great success in meeting people’s demand for spiritual culture, facilitating social development, and inheriting traditional culture. However, problems emerged as accountabilities are not clear, immovable cultural relics are being neglected, and cultural resources are to play a bigger role. Therefore, it is very necessary and timely for the central government to unveil such a document.
Gu Yucai:
It took nearly a year for the document to be drafted. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage conducted thorough inspections and research and solicited ideas from local heritage departments and experts. Vice-Premier Liu Yandong hosted a meeting to draw on suggestions and ideas, and made requirements for the document drafting. The General Office of the State Council solicited ideas from related departments. The document lays out an overall plan for the objective and task of the development of cultural relics in the long term. It also created measures to solve problems in the work concerning cultural relics. It is a pragmatic and useful guidance document.
Gu Yucai:
The document is composed of seven parts: significance, overall plan, duty, protection, exploration, law enforcement and guarantee system improvement. There are some highlights in the document. For example, according to the document, the work concerning cultural relics will be seen as an important part of the comprehensive evaluation of local cadres. The document calls for establishing an evaluation system for the protection of cultural relics. These measures focus on the leadership responsibility of cultural relic protection. The document calls on strengthened supervision over cultural relics and proposes formulating a cultural relic protection compensation method, which would address problems such as capital shortage and land replacement in cultural relic-intensive areas. It will also alleviate pressure on cultural relic protection and economic and social development in these areas. According to the document, cultural relic protection work should be in service to cultivating and carrying forward socialist core values, safeguarding the people’s basic cultural rights and interests, economic and social development as well as expanding the influence of Chinese culture. The document proposed vigorously developing the cultural creativity industry to increase revenue and expand employment. It is an important measure to adjust to the current new normal state of economic development. The document calls on more protection work on immovable cultural relics, which belong to the unauthorized cultural relics organizations in the Cultural Relics Protection Law. The number of these cultural relics is close to 640,000. It calls on innovative management and multiple channels for their protection. Moreover, local people and social organizations are encouraged to help manage these cultural relics.
Gu Yucai:
The above is an introduction of the State Council document. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the long-term concern and support of the cultural relics work from media friends. Now, Zhu Xiaodong and I will be pleased to answer your questions. Thank you.
Xi Yanchun:
Coming up is question time. Please identify yourself before asking questions.
Xinhua:
Mr Gu, are there any differences between this new policy and previous policies, and what are the highlights in the new policy?
Gu Yucai:
The government has always paid attention to the preservation of cultural relics. It produced two policy documents on the preservation of cultural relics in 1997 and 2005 respectively. To cope with the current situation, the new policy differs a lot from the previous two. Both of the previous two policies had six sections with limited content. In addition, the new policy stresses new development ideas: for example, the idea of coordination between development and preservation. The new policy emphasizes principles of public benefit, reform, renovation, and management as well as the development goal of cultural relics cause in 2020. During the drafting of the policy, measures for salvaging preservation and preventive preservation were officially included. The principles of the policies are preservation, salvaging, utilization, and management, among which salvaging is the priority.
Gu Yucai:
After many years’ work, cultural relic preservation has been improved. Now, preventive preservation becomes a new challenge. According to a previous study, antiques in museum store rooms are not free of risks. Fifty percent of cultural relics face corrosion. Thus, just as people need to strengthen health to prevent being sent to the hospital, preserving cultural relics must be improved. For immovable cultural relics, efforts must be made in daily maintenance. Furthermore, compensation methods regarding cultural relic preservation were brought up. Some local governments and people in regions with rich cultural relics said the local economy was affected by preservation, as industrial companies are now allowed in cultural relic areas and deep-rooted plants are forbidden in the area. In addition, for privately owned cultural relics, repair work is difficult, as the original raw materials and crafts are costly and hard to find. So these should be compensated according to costs, sacrifice, and contribution in cultural relic preservation. Previously, China didn’t have such policy measures. The new policy explicitly lays out compensation measures for cultural relics preservation. What’s more, the policy also mentions the cultural innovation industry and public involvement in cultural relic preservation to meet the needs of economic and social development.
China Radio International:
Can you tell us about the new measures in determining local governments’ responsibilities and liabilities?
Gu Yucai:
First, the document explicitly stipulated responsibilities of local governments.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council and local governments all pay great attention to the protection of cultural relics.
In the past, laws and regulations just vaguely stated that local governments were responsible for the protection of cultural relics, without defining the roles, or how to fulfill the duties.
The document then explicitly stipulated the obligations of governments, mainly that of local governments.
Besides further raising governments’ awareness on the protection of cultural relics, the document also makes chief cadres accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities of management and supervision in accordance with laws.
It also required local governments to take on the primary responsibility in terms of relic protection, put it high on their agendas, and make it an indicator in the overall assessment of local government officials
The document also required local government to evaluate the protection of cultural relics annually, and to solve problems in a timely manner.
In the chapter on the enforcement of the law, it stipulated that local governments’ will be held accountable if they fail to fulfill their responsibilities.
It stipulated that, responsible personnel at local governments, relevant departments and institutions will be answerable, or transferred to judicial authorities, if non-fulfillment of duties, reckless decisions, or dereliction of their duties, cause damage, theft or burning of cultural relics.
The document stressed that should a damage or loss of the cultural relics occurred, those directly responsible, those in charge of the institution and supervisory institutions, and local governments, will all be held responsible.
It also decided to set up a lifelong accountability mechanism in the protection of cultural relics, which will hold previously answerable official accountable even if they were reassigned, promoted or retired.
Economic Daily：
The recent State Council meeting decided to increase investment in cultural relics protection and set up insurance products on cultural relics protection. Where does this protection budget come from? What is the size of the budget, and is it sustainable? Based on overseas experiences, insurance costs for cultural relics protection will be a large sum. Where will this money come from? What is the size of the fund, and what protection role will it play?
The document stressed the need for increased government investment in cultural relics protection. In recent years, both the central government and provincial governments have invested a lot in cultural relics protection. The central budget spends about 15 billion yuan, Shaanxi more than 100 million yuan, and Beijing one billion yuan each year in cultural relics protection, which do not include spending in construction of museums.
The document also stressed the insurance for cultural relics protection. In recent years, we have become aware of the importance of insurance for cultural relics. But our aim is not about the insurance. It doesn’t mean that there is no responsibility once the cultural relics are insured. Some countries are exploring the establishment of a national guarantee system. We are exploring whether the national guarantee system will be realistic in our country. After the publication of State Council document we will work with related departments to study the implementation of the system.
Guangming Daily:
In recent years, more social powers were seen getting involved in the protection of cultural relics. Individuals at the local level have made some attempts in the personal custody of cultural relics. As mentioned in the document, these social attempts are encouraged, but are there any specific rules in support of it? And what reason is there for such a move?
Gu Yucai:
The move is based on the following concerns: The central and provincial governments have attached great importance to and put a lot into cultural relics protection, and thus historical and cultural sites at the national or provincial levels are better protected than those at lower levels. For instance, over 100,000 historical and cultural sites at the city and county level, as well as around 600,000 places that have not been identified as historical and cultural sites throughout the country, are not well preserved due to lack of funding. With limited budgets from local governments, attracting social powers and making use of social capital is a good way to solve the difficulty.
Gu Yucai:
In global practice, many countries have made such initiatives. Germany, for example, even allows selling cultural relics to individuals under strict conditions. Likewise, some regions in China, including Shanxi, Anhui, and Guangdong provinces, have also made attempts in cultural relics protection. The document released by the State Council has just used these attempts for reference. We do understand some prevailing concerns about the safety of these cultural relics, while in the next stage, a series of measures will be carried out by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to prevent improper use of cultural relics.
Gu Yucai:
We have considered the proper use of cultural relics. First, the procedures should be open to the public. Absorbing social capital in the preservation of cultural relics should be based on fair competition. Second, a restoration plan for cultural relics should get approval in accordance with the law. Last, State-owned cultural relics should not become assets of any enterprises. The document also made clear several limitations in the use of cultural relics, such as under the premise of protection, with the goal of promoting its value and under the bottom line of abiding by law and social ethics. The central government investigated and cracked down on private clubs that are operating within some scenic and spots. Thus, the proper use of cultural relics requires corresponding procedures and a protection system.
People’s Daily：
The document said China will greatly boost the development of cultural creativity industry, and we have noticed that many museums have become more creative and attractive in the past year, so could you make a brief introduction about this industry, and what’s your next step to develop it further?
Zhu Xiaodong:
One primary objective of the document released by the State Council is to promote the development of cultural creativity industry. It aims to find out the value of the cultural elements of the cultural relics, and pay attention to the practical function of them. We should make them reflect people’s life and help the sector grow. We should also explore the development possibilities of the creative industry of the museums, as compared to the foreign countries this industry in China has a lot room to grow. For example, income from cultural products in some foreign museums accounts for 70 percent of the total income of the museums and the ticket income only occupies 30 percent. However, the ratio of the cultural and creative products out of the total income reached 10 percent at most in China. In recent years, this ratio has increased in several famous museums such as The Palace Museum in Beijing, which is a good sign.
With the innovation and creativity as a driving force, we should encourage the museums to innovate and link the museums and the cultural creative enterprises and design departments to create more original cultural products with Chinese characteristics and national features, and build our own cultural creative brands. The government should also provide more convenience and support to the participants, research and operation of the social funds. We will also put forward the related policies and measures to contribute to the development of this industry.
Gu Yucai:
We should confirm that protecting the cultural relics should be classified into the public welfare industry, but developing cultural and creative products based on cultural relics belong to the issues of cultural industry at first. Developing the cultural industry is a goal set by the 18th CPC National Congress, and by 2020 when a moderately prosperous society is built, the cultural industry should be a pillar industry of the society, and as an important of the cultural industry, the development of the creative industry of the museums is also inevitable. In terms of the current situation, developing the creative industry not only can increase the incomes of the museums, but also helps to spread Chinese traditional culture overseas. After people visit the museums, they could buy some creative cultural products related to displays in the museum and bring them home. These products displayed in their houses could attract more tourists and visitors to the museums and even if others do not come to visit the museums, they could learn something about the museums.
China Daily:
I have two questions. First is about boosting the international exchanges of historical and cultural relics. Could you please tells us the details of the “China in Cultural Relics” projects, especially the exhibitions in foreign countries and the level of the exhibited relics. How to cooperate with other countries in the regard? Second, the open solicitation for opinions on the draft amendments of the Law on the Protection of Culture Relics has ended. The law will lift restriction on auctions of cultural relics by foreign companies in China. What challenges do you think this will bring to related departments? Do you think it will benefit the returning of cultural relics?
Gu Yucai:
In terms of boosting the international exchanges of cultural relics, we have been focusing on the “going-out” of Chinese cultural relics in recent years supported by related departments. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage has set special funds under the support of the Ministry of Finance to promote the initiative, which has been very effective.
Exhibitions of cultural relics are a “golden card” of diplomacy. In 2014, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between China and France, we launched an exhibition on the Han Dynasties. As guardians, President Xi Jinping and President Francois Hollande submitted inscriptions for the exhibition, which was quite powerful. Exhibitions of cultural relics have become an important window for foreign countries to learn about China. In ancient times, we talked about “peace and harmony”, which today means we stick to peaceful development. We can still see that spirit on some of our relics.
Gu Yucai:
The “China in Cultural Relics” program you mentioned, albeit a small project, has produced positive influence so far. We know the Ministry of Culture has set up a dozen of Chinese Culture Centers overseas. The initial idea of the project intended to select 36 pieces of cultural relics that are most representative in Chinese history, change them into multi-media forms and display them in those centers. In this way, visitors can learn better about the relics than in museums, because the multi-media models can be zoomed in and rotated with multiple perspectives. In October 2015, during President Xi’s visit to Singapore, he attended the opening ceremony of a local Chinese Culture Center. After that, accompanied by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, he also visited the exhibition on the first floor, which displayed works by Chinese and Singaporean artists that commemorated the 25 anniversary of diplomatic relations of the two countries. Our multi-media exhibition screen was located in an inconspicuous corner, but when President Xi walked by, he was interested and started to operate on it. When the picture of the relics appeared, President Xi immediately recognized that it was “Horse Stepping on Flying Swallow”. Although he had a tight schedule that day, President Xi spent quite long time in front of our exhibition, saying we “did a good job”. We plan to open the exhibitions in more places.
Gu Yucai:
About the second question, many people have noticed that we cancelled restrictions on foreign capital in the draft amendments of the Law on the Protection of Culture Relics. Some praised our decision while others cautioned us that we were “letting in the wolves”. The amendments are still under legislative review and argumentation in the Legal Affairs Office of the State Council. We will study different opinions in the society and coordinate with the Legal Affairs Office to make the law better. The restrictions were lifted to meet the central government’s requirement of further opening up. Auctions of cultural relics have gone through several phases. At the beginning, only State-owned enterprises (SOE) were allowed to conduct auctions. Now basically private enterprises have been engaging in the auctions with little SOE participation. Some previous cultural relic stores have founded some auction companies. According to the requirements of the auction law, sellers of cultural relics cannot run auctions. Only agents like the current auction companies are allowed to do it. To boost the demand, now we have decided to cancel it, but we will modify the related articles based on the public opinions.
CCTV:
With the acceleration of urbanization, some cultural relics have been ruined. Are there any figures about the annual disappearance of cultural relics? Does the document raise any new measures to punish those responsible? People have blamed the cultural relic authorities of relatively weak law enforcement, are there any aspects in which we can seek a breakthrough? Are there any major law enforcement initiatives scheduled this year to fight crime concerning cultural relics?
Gu Yucai:
Cultural relics have been damaged, from time to time, in the process of urbanization, and there has been a fierce social response to that. Most of these cases reported to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage were exposed by the media, the public and volunteers working for cultural relics protection. The government has strengthened law enforcement and deterred some people. Statistics show such crimes are going down year by year by a relatively large margin. But this is a problem that we cannot ignore - cultural relics cannot be reborn.
The document of the State Council has specified how to protect genuine cultural relics. Law enforcement will also be strengthened. Here I want to stress that it is unrealistic to have every sector have its own law enforcement teams, that is not in line with the country’s guidelines of pushing forward comprehensive law enforcement. The priority of the heritage authorities is to supervise law enforcement. The supervision has been strengthened since the department of supervision under the State Administration of Cultural Heritage was established in 2009, and it has made progress. In recent years we oversaw law enforcement involving a group of cases, made the results public and had talks with local leaders. Not long ago, the tomb of an imperial concubine from the Eastern Royal Tombs of the Qing Dynasty was stolen, which drew a quick response from the public. We acted swiftly on it and in just several days tracked down the criminals. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage had talks with leaders of Tangshan city of Hebei province and leaders of the county where the case occurred. The power of deterrence is growing.
Gu Yucai:
The document demands to strictly look into responsibilities of local governments. I think some measures in the State Council document should be incorporated in future revisions of the Cultural Relics Protection Law, which will better guarantee enforcement of punishment.
Xi Yanchun:
That’s all for today’s policy briefing. Thank you all.
