BEIJING - Foreign organizations and individuals will not be allowed to conduct surveys of China's intangible cultural heritage without approval from senior Chinese regulators, according to a new draft law on the protection of intangible assets.

The draft was submitted on Wednesday to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, for its third reading as its bimonthly session began.

The ban was added to the draft law in response to concerns about the lack of legal support for the urgent protection and preservation of China's cultural assets against infringements by overseas organizations and individuals, said Li Chong'an, vice-chairman of the NPC Law Committee.

Foreign organizations and individuals who violate the law may face fines ranging from 100,000 yuan ($15,000) to 500,000 yuan.

Intangible cultural heritage in the draft law refers to traditional oral literature, rituals, medicines, arts, skills, sporting activities and festivals that have been handed down from one generation to another among China's diverse ethnic peoples.

The previous version of the draft law said "individuals from outside China must report to local authorities at the county level or above about their plans to carry out a survey on intangible cultural heritage and obtain approval before they begin".

It also stipulates that overseas organizations wishing to conduct a survey on intangible cultural heritage must ally themselves with at least one Chinese culture regulator as a local partner. Written approval must be obtained from local authorities at the provincial level or above before an overseas survey team can carry out fieldwork in China.

But some legislators have said applications for surveys by foreign individuals should also go through regulators at provincial level. The new version of the draft prohibits foreign organizations and individuals from doing surveys on their own.

On-site surveying and collection of data form the basis of preserving and protecting the nation's rich cultural heritage, said Li.

"Forms of intangible cultural heritage are closely associated with the fundamental rights and interests of the Chinese people. These protected cultural assets may play an important role in the development of communities and ethnic groups," said Wang Heyun, a researcher with China Ethnic Law Studies Association.

Nonetheless, the absence of a clearly defined law in this area during recent decades has resulted in the loss of and damage to some of the nation's intangible cultural treasures. Some organizations and individuals from abroad have taken advantage of this legal loophole, experts said.

These groups or individuals have even videotaped how some treasures are created in many of China's remote, mountainous areas, said Cao Baoming, president of Jilin Provincial Folk Artists Association.

There have been reports of cases involving the fishing culture of the Hezhe ethnic people in Heilongjiang province, Cao said.

"Forms of intangible cultural heritage are important; they are of high economic value too," said Zhou Anping, a law professor with Southwest University in Chongqing.

The establishment of a legal system to protect forms of intangible cultural heritage and related intellectual property rights "may help close loopholes in the existing intellectual property rights protection mechanism", Zhou said.

Source:China Daily