China Pledges Judicial Protection Of Cultural Heritage

BEIJING,, Feb 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Feb, 2023 ) :China's top court and cultural heritage authority have pledged to better protect the country's cultural treasures through judicial means, while making several cases public.

The Supreme People's Court, the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the cultural heritage branch under a national judicial research society, on Tuesday jointly published 15 typical judicial cases regarding the protection of cultural relics and cultural heritage.

The move is expected to help courts nationwide, as well as cultural heritage authorities at all levels, to better perform their respective duties and promote the public's awareness of cultural heritage protection, according to a document issued by the three publishers.

The authorities pledged severe punishments for cultural heritage-related crimes, especially those involving criminals with bad intentions that resulted in serious consequences.

Such measures are also expected to deter further offenses, the document said.

The 15 cases include one in which a convict surnamed Yao was found to have led a criminal ring and committed a series of tomb thefts and robberies, along with the reselling of cultural relics. The ancient tombs and cultural ruins damaged included a relics site in northeast China's Liaoning Province. Archaeologists had previously unearthed a large number of relics dating to more than 5,500 years ago at the site. Police caught over 200 suspects and retrieved over 2,000 items. Yao, the ringleader, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.