Last week, China’s top procuratorate released studies of eight typical cases on Saturday to assist prosecutors nationwide in managing related public litigations, with the goal of further protecting the nation’s cultural heritage. According to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP), typical criminal crimes, including destroying and occupying cultural relics—historical structures, revolutionary landmarks, and old cultural relics—were committed in these incidents. One noteworthy instance involved prosecutors in Jiangsu Province, east China, who filed an administrative public lawsuit against a township administration in 2023.
This action was taken because the local administration disregarded recommendations made by the prosecutors to protect the grave of a well-known writer from the 16th century. According to the SPP, procuratorates around the country have processed more than 17,000 public litigation matters pertaining to the preservation of cultural heritage since October 2019. China has a comprehensive policy framework for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage, which includes tangible and intangible cultural assets.
China has laws and regulations at both the national and provincial levels governing cultural heritage protection. The main legislation includes the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics and the Law on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) .
