On 27 Dec. 2023, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) released typical cases of procuratorial public interest litigation for the protection of cultural relics and heritage.
This batch consists of eight cases, involving cultural heritage such as Tibetan Buddhist temples, coastal defense sites, agricultural cultural and irrigation engineering sites, traditional villages, and historic residences.
For instance, in Case One, the Hongjue Temple of Tibetan Buddhism was once occupied by a certain printing factory. The printing factory vacated part of the temple area and handed it over to the Qinghai Provincial Buddhist Association for restoration. However, some buildings were not properly managed and restored, facing the risk of damage and loss.
The local procuratorate publicly served a written procuratorial suggestion to the local Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Science Bureau (hereinafter the “district cultural bureau”), urging it to take effective measures to ensure the proper protection and utilization of Hongjue Temple. After receiving a written reply from the district cultural bureau, the printing factory was completely evacuated, and the cultural relics were repaired.
The SPP stated that it would strengthen cooperation with relevant departments such as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, enhance law enforcement and judicial cooperation, and support the protection of cultural relics and heritage with the rule of law.
Photo by Chris Wong on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
