China tightens control over ICH approval
China tightens control over ICH approval
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-31 22:01 Comments() PrintMail Large Medium Small
CHENGDU - The government is tightening its control over the approval of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) classifications and considering the establishment of a withdrawal mechanism, a cultural official said Tuesday.
China received nearly 3,000 applications for its third list of state-level ICH, said Ma Desheng, deputy director with the ICH Department of the Ministry of Culture.
"Only 190 applications will be approved, as we will strictly grant ICH to items that are truly representative of great cultural value," Ma said.
Ma made the remarks at the ongoing forum on ICH protection in Chengdu, capital of southwest Sichuan province.
China has approved 1,028 state-level ICH items on its first two lists since 2006, according to Ma.
"Now we are going to tighten the policy for ICH approval," Ma said.
Although the number of state-level ICH items is increasing, not all of them are well preserved, as protection work is sometimes neglected, said Chinese National Academy of Arts researcher Tian Qing at the forum.
"What if an item is listed as ICH, but no one does necessary work to protect and preserve it?" asked Tian, who is also an ICH expert.
Tian, as a political advisor, made a proposal at this year's People's Political Consultative Conference that a withdrawal mechanism for the ICH list should be put in place to discourage negligence on protection and preservation.
Ma agreed with Tian's proposal and confirmed that the government is mulling it over.
"It is an important and urgent issue," Ma said, adding that the Ministry of Culture is organizing experts to look into the feasibility of the mechanism before it is launched.
Tian's proposal also echoed the opinion of a UN official, who warned that many countries do not fully understand the key concepts of the Convention for the Safeguarding of ICH.
"The Convention is not understood and implemented in a consistent way throughout the world," said Cecile Duvelle, chief of UNESCO's ICH section, at the forum.
According to the Convention, ICH must always be living heritage, which means it must continue to be actively produced, maintained, recreated and safeguarded, Duvelle said.
"Intangible heritage does not live in archives or museums, libraries or monuments, rather, it lives only in the minds and bodies of human beings," Duvelle said.
She said many countries have largely concentrated on the promotional aspects, instead of focusing on the urgent tasks of safeguarding the ICH in danger.
She has since called on the international society to build a uniform mechanism in protecting ICH.
On Wednesday, China will put in place its first law on the protection of ICH, including traditional oral literature, performing arts, craftsmanship, medicine and folk customs.
The law, approved in February by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), has been hailed by experts as a milestone for efforts to better preserve traditions of historic, literary, artistic and scientific value.
