Demolition and protection game scholars call for the establishment of an urgent emergency designated system

While China’s cultural heritage protection department is in the process of continuous improvement, although there are cultural relic protection laws, it will continue to face new issues. With the increase in urban construction, reports of endangered heritage have continued to emerge. In the face of such emergencies, we currently have no corresponding laws. In most cases, we rely on the appeal of experts, citizens, or the media. Such calls are often limited. .

In January 2012, Beijing's Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin's former demolished the house caused widespread concern, which sounded a warning for the protection of Chinese cultural relics. Similar incidents continue to show that China's Mainland should establish an emergency designated system for endangered heritage as soon as possible.

Provisional protection of monuments

The emergency designated system of endangered heritage is not a new creation. In Asia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong all have similar systems. The emergency designated system for endangered heritage has different titles. Japan calls it “false designation” (if it is temporary); Korea also has “false designation” (translated from Japanese); Taiwan uses “tentative monuments”; Hong Kong uses “assumed antiquities”. And "tentative monuments."

The Hong Kong Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance defines “assumed antiquities” and “tentative monuments”. The former refers to objects or sites that can reasonably be assumed to be antiquities or contain antiquities. The latter refers to section 2A of the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance. Announced as tentative monuments, tentative historical buildings, tentative archaeological or paleontological sites, etc. This Article was added by Article 38, Article 2, in 1982.

Below we examine the different features of Asian law. Chapter 2A of the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance, Chapter 53 of the Laws of Hong Kong, provides for the declaration and plans of provisional monuments, etc. The monuments include: 1. To consider whether a place, building, place or structure should be declared For monuments, the competent authority may, after consultation with the Advisory Committee, announce by notice in the Gazette a provisional historic site, a tentative historical building or a tentative archaeological or paleontological site or structure; 2. The declaration made under paragraph 1 may include the Any adjoining land of a place, building, place or structure as part of a tentative monument. After the publication of an announcement made pursuant to paragraph 1, the competent authority shall sign on a plan clearly showing the location of a provisional monument and deposit the plan in the Land Registry; if the declaration is accompanied by a provisional monument in a private land area In relation to this, the competent authority shall register the declaration in the Land Registry and send a copy of the announced announcement together with a copy of the plan to the owner of the private land and any lawful occupier of the land. A copy of the announcement announced, together with a copy of the relevant plan, is posted on the private land.

Japan's "Cultural Protection Law" provisions on "false designation" (temporary designation) include: "According to the first item of the preceding article, the Prefectural Board of Education can temporarily designate historic sites and natural sites when it is deemed necessary before the designation. “Memorial items” and “When performing the false designation in the preceding paragraph, the prefectural Board of Education must report directly to the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology”. Article 14 of Korea’s “Law on the Protection of Cultural Assets” also contains information on “false designation” (temporary designation), including: In cultural assets deemed to have designated value, it is urgent before designation, and there is not enough time to pass through cultural assets. Under the deliberation of the Committee, the Director of Cultural Affairs may temporarily designate as a cultural asset or an important cultural asset.

Some Asian countries or regions have established corresponding temporary monument protection systems in recent years, although there are some differences in the law. For example, Japan is mainly aimed at historic monuments and natural monuments, while South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong target all heritage. The time limit is also different. The limitation period for Hong Kong is one year and cannot be extended; Taiwan is a half year and can be extended once; Japan is two years; Korea is half a year. However, taking such legal measures is conducive to the protection of cultural heritage.

Hong Kong example of protection

Many buildings in Hong Kong have been designated as tentative monuments since 2003. Morrison House was designated a tentative monument on April 11, 2003. This is the first time in history that Hong Kong has used the law to list buildings as "tentative monuments."

Morrison House was built in 1936 as part of the villa of the famous 19th Route Army commander General Cai Tingjun during the War of Resistance Against Japan. From 1946 to 1949, the villa was once used as the schoolhouse of Dade College, which is a college and university founded by Zhou Enlai and Dong Biwu. The building of Morrison House is quite unique. The roof of the ancestral hall is made of green-glazed Chinese-style tiles, and the corners are decorated with Ruilong, a Chinese-Western compatible style. According to reports, the owner of the Ho Fook Tong Club, the Hong Kong Association of the Chinese Christian Church, applied to the Hong Kong Buildings Department to remove the club in early March 2003. The Antiquities Advisory Committee believes that the Morison Building in the clubhouse is of historical value. The District Council expressed concern about the demolition plan and supported the preservation of Morrison House. A government spokesman said that considering the historical and architectural values ​​of Morrison House and the community’s expectations for preservation, the building is indeed worth keeping. According to the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance, Morison Building, once declared a provisional monument, shall not be removed within 12 months of its declaration unless it is granted by the Secretary for Home Affairs under the supervision of the Antiquities Affairs Authority.

After Morrison House was designated as a provisional monument, the Secretary for Home Affairs informed the owner of his identity as the Antiquities Affairs Authority, indicating that he intended to declare the building a monument for permanent preservation and was opposed by the owners. In May 2004, the Chief Executive in Council decided not to accept opposition petitions from the owner of Morrison House as a monument.

Jingxian Li is a Hong Kong building with red walls and green tiles with Chinese characteristics. It was completed in 1937. As the site value exceeded HK$500 million, the owners had intentionally cleared and rebuilt. At the beginning of April 2004, Jing Xianli was tendered by the owner and was always concerned about the protection of the non-governmental organization Changchun. He wrote to He Zhiping, Director of the Bureau of Civil Affairs, who is also the Antiquities Affairs Authority, and asked King Yin-li as a monument. The "Rescue the Jingxianli Movement" was launched in June and caused widespread repercussions. The owner told the media that it was temporarily not selling Jing Yin Li.

In July 2007, the news that Jing Yin Li was about to sell again spread out in August. The Changchun News Agency wrote to the Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, asking her to declare King Yin Lei as a provisional monument in accordance with the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance as the Antiquities Authority. The Development Bureau stated in its reply that the Antiquities and Monuments Office is conducting a study on the historical value of buildings in order to designate appropriate conservation methods. On September 11, Jingxianli was found to have been destroyed. In the following days, the green roof of the building, the Baoding on the right ridge, the carved window frames, and the surface of the red brick wall were successively destroyed. On the 11th, the Changchun News Agency once again wrote a letter to the Development Bureau, reiterating it as a tentative monument, and on the 13th, it went to the government headquarters to request the development bureau to pay attention to heritage conservation work. Lin Zhengyue finally announced on the 15th that after the Antiquities Advisory Committee was held, Jing Xianli was listed as a tentative monument. On July 11, 2008, Jing Xianli was formally declared as a monument and was permanently protected.

The urgency of designating a provisional monument

Compared to other Asian countries and regions, there is currently no law concerning the designation of tentative monuments in mainland China. The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics is mainly aimed at objects that are already cultural relics. For those that have not yet been designated as cultural relics, only Article 32 “In the course of construction or in agricultural production, any unit or individual has discovered Cultural relics shall protect the site and immediately report to the local administrative department for cultural relics. After receiving the report, the administrative department of cultural relics shall rush to the scene within 24 hours after receiving the report and submit a handling opinion within 7 days. The administrative department of cultural relics may apply to the local authorities. The people's government informs public security agencies to assist in the protection of the site; if important cultural relics are found, they shall immediately be reported to the administrative department of cultural relics under the State Council, and the administrative department for cultural relics under the State Council shall submit a handling opinion within 15 days after receiving the report.” In fact, we are not faced with accidental discovery at present. More is man-made destruction. However, through the appeal of experts, the intervention of the executive authorities can only achieve the purpose of retaining individual cases. This does not have universal significance.

In 2008, Beiyang Naval Shipyard was protected in a very urgent situation. At that time, Wang Keyou, the owner of Daxie Shipyard, wrote to the director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. The author also repeatedly called for the proposal to be presented to the experts present at the “Architects and 20th Century Cultural Heritage Forum” held in June 2008. Protect Dalat Dock. The initiative received the support of all experts attending the meeting and was also supported by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. Daxie Dock is a lucky one, protected under the direct intervention of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. At the time, the author also proposed to set up a list of endangered heritage protection.

However, such luck does not always come. In 2011, similarly in the Binhai New Area, and in the immediate vicinity of the Dagu Shipyard, the cultural heritage endangered again. The pioneer of modern chemical industry in China - Tianjin Soda Plant did not become lucky. After the original factory was relocated, the property rights were transferred to the new owners, and the new owners removed important production line equipment and buildings within two days without any permission. The factory was established by famous Chinese industrialist Fan Xudong in 1916. It was founded in 1919. In 1920, it was registered as a “Wynn Alkali Company”. In 1921, Hou Debang was an engineer. In 1924, he produced alkali, unveiling the history of the East Asian soda industry in China and even East Asia. First page. It is the first large-scale chemical enterprise in the history of China. Its position and role in the history of China's industrial development are unusual. Comparing Jing Xianli of Hong Kong, under such circumstances, if there are relevant laws concerning tentative monuments, we can avoid tragedies. Before the Soda Plant was dismantled, we summarized its historical value and wrote a letter to the National Bureau of Cultural Heritage to try to solve the problem through administrative intervention. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage also sent a letter asking for protection. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is also very concerned about sending people to investigate. Tianjin Evening News reporter also called for it, but bad things still happen.

Similar incidents are still happening in Tianjin. Now, the ruins of the Ministry of Ministries and Banks, which were built in 1903, are in dispute. The plans for high-rise buildings have already been introduced, and they are also labeled as "protection plans." The building is a very important relic in both the history of Tianjin's industry and the history of coinage in China.

The case of Tianjin is but a microcosm of the country. Today, China’s heritage has been diversified. There are important sites in the remote areas such as the Buddhist Temple of the Tang Dynasty, as well as more heritage in cities. The latter often conflicts with development, and property rights are becoming more and more complicated. It is the public property that also has jurisdiction over different units. In the absence of a “protection unit for cultural relics” umbrella, property owners have great powers to determine the fate of the estate. What's more, China is in the stage of industrial transformation. Property rights have changed rapidly, and economic interests often play a decisive role in it, which makes it more difficult to protect.

In this game, the system for designating a provisional monument sets a buffer period, which can win more time for thinking and weighing in all aspects. China is developing at a rapid rate and inheritance is a non-renewable resource. In order to avoid regret due to temporary negligence, it is very necessary to establish this system. We strongly urge the establishment of a designated system for endangered heritage.

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