CCTV:

The third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made arrangements for deepening institutional reforms and called for the establishment of an inspection system for cultural heritage protection. Can you talk about what the NCHA has done in recent years to ensure the safety of cultural relics and what measures will be taken in the next step? Thank you.

Guan Qiang:

Thank you for your question. The safety of cultural relics is the bottom line and red line for our work on cultural relics. In recent years, the NCHA has taken significant steps to ensure the safety of cultural relics by incorporating them into the annual assessment and evaluation system of all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. Using satellite remote sensing, big data, and other technologies, the NCHA has investigated illegal activities and safety incidents related to cultural relics. We have consistently carried out inspections and rectification efforts to address significant risks and hidden dangers. Over the past three years, we have identified and addressed more than 240,000 safety risks and issues concerning various cultural relics. Additionally, 306,000 cultural relics museums nationwide have publicly disclosed the names of those directly responsible for cultural relics safety, and comprehensive coverage has been achieved for all key national-level protected sites in all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.

To combat and prevent crimes involving cultural relics, the NCHA has fully utilized the national inter-departmental joint meeting mechanism for cultural relics safety. In collaboration with relevant departments, it has issued the Special Work Plan for Combating and Preventing Cultural Relics Crimes (2023-2025) and the Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Handling of Criminal Cases Obstructing the Management of Cultural Relics. Additionally, the NCHA has released notable cases of public interest litigation aimed at protecting the Great Wall, along with 15 typical cases involving the lawful protection of cultural relics and heritage. We have commenced a new series of special initiatives to combat and prevent crimes involving cultural relics. Since the launch of the new three-year special initiative in September 2022, public security organs nationwide have resolved over 1,200 cases of cultural relics crimes. They have arrested more than 3,500 suspects and recovered over 3,100 valuable cultural relics, along with more than 470,000 general cultural relics.

To strengthen the supervision of cultural relics, we have improved our institutional building and issued measures for overseeing cases involving legal violations related to cultural relics, as well as guidelines for inquiries into cultural relics supervision. We have employed various methods, including on-site supervision, joint inquiries, and special inspections, to effectively oversee and address cases involving legal violations related to cultural relics. As a result, we have conducted thorough investigations and rectifications of several major violations, such as illegal construction, unauthorized repairs and unauthorized relocations. We have maintained law enforcement and monitoring of cultural relics through satellite remote sensing, enhancing our ability to identify illegal activities related to these relics. In 2024, we included all world cultural heritage sites and key historical and cultural sites under national-level protection in the scope of monitoring, and we will monitor them once a quarter in the future.

Cultural relics supervision is an important part of cultural heritage protection oversight. In the next steps, the NCHA will implement the arrangements and requirements set forth by the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and make every effort to enhance the supervision of cultural relics protection. At the same time, we'll continue to strengthen our efforts to monitor illegal activities concerning cultural relics, strictly investigating major illegal violations and safety accidents, reinforcing accountability, and ensuring that local authorities fulfill their responsibilities for relic protection. We will strengthen our technological capabilities and comprehensively conduct law enforcement and monitoring of cultural relics through satellite remote sensing. This will help us move the protection and safety supervision of cultural relics forward, allowing us to promptly identify violations of laws and regulations and effectively ensure the safety of cultural relics. Thank you.