Laws of the People's Republic of China

    The 20th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National
People's Congress, having considered the proposal submitted by the State
Council regarding the Draft Amendment to the Law of the People's Republic of
China on the Protection of Cultural Relics, decides to make the following
revisions of Article 30 and Article 31 of the Law of the People's Republic of
China on the Protection of Cultural Relics:

    1. The following five items are added to the acts to which administrative
sanctions shall be applicable as provided in Article 30:

    (1) scrawling upon, defiling or mutilating cultural relics under State
protection in not serious manners, or damaging or destroying signs put up in
accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of this Law for places to be
protected as cultural relics, for which the persons involved shall be fined
or instructed to compensate for the losses thus incurred by the public
security  department or by the units to which the cultural relics belong;

    (2) undertaking construction projects within the scope of protection for
a historical and cultural site, in contravention of the provisions of Article
11 of this Law, or constructing buildings or other structures within the area
delimited for the control of construction around a site to be protected for
its historical and cultural value, in contravention of the provisions of
Article 12 of this Law, for which the persons involved shall be instructed by
the departments for urban and rural planning, or by the said departments as
suggested by the departments for cultural administration, to stop the
construction and dismantle the buildings or other structures illegally
constructed, or, shall be fined;

    (3) carrying out such activities as demolition or excavation in the
vicinity of sites to be protected for their historical and cultural value,
thus endangering the safety of the cultural relics, for which the persons
involved shall be stopped from continuing such activities by the public
security department or by the said department as suggested by the departments
for cultural administration, and may concurrently be fined;

    (4) dealing, by agencies of cultural relics, in any cultural relics, the
buying or selling of which is not permitted by the departments for cultural
administration, for which the agencies involved shall, after examination and
verification by the administrative departments for industry and commerce in
conjunction with the departments for cultural administration, have their
illegal earnings confiscated by the administrative departments for industry
and commerce, and may concurrently be fined or shall have the cultural relics
illegally handled confiscated;

    (5) selling or presenting as gifts without permission any cultural relics
in their collection by museums, libraries or like institutions under public
ownership to other museums, libraries and like institutions under public
ownership, for which, the institutions involved shall be instructed by the
departments for cultural administration to recover the cultural relics sold
or presented as gifts and shall have the illegal earnings derived therefrom
confiscated or shall be fined; and the persons in charge and the persons
directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions by the units to
which they belong or their higher authorities.

    Item (2) of Article 30 which reads: "buying or selling cultural relics
without the approval of the departments for cultural administration, for
which the persons involved shall be warned or fined by the departments for
the administration of industry and commerce, and their illegal earnings and
the cultural relics illegally handled by them may be confiscated," is amended
to read: "buying or selling cultural relics without the approval of the
departments for cultural administration, for which, the persons involved
shall have their illegal earnings derived therefrom and the cultural relics
illegally handled confiscated by the administrative departments for industry
and commerce on their own or as suggested by the departments for cultural
administration, and may concurrently be fined."

    A new paragraph is added to Article 30 as its second paragraph which
reads: "Anyone who is not satisfied with the administrative sanctions made in
accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph may apply for
reconsideration or bring a lawsuit according to law."

    2. The following provisions are added to Article 31: (1) "selling or
presenting as gifts without permission any cultural relics in their
collection by museums, libraries or like institutions under public ownership
to any institution not under public ownership or to any individual, for which
the persons in charge and the persons directly responsible shall be
investigated for criminal responsibility by applying mutatis mutandis the
provisions of Article 187 of the Criminal Law;" (2) "functionaries of the
State who, by abusing their power, illegally appropriate any cultural relics
under State protection shall be deemed as embezzlers and punished as such;
those who have caused serious damage or losses to valuable cultural relics
shall be investigated for criminal responsibility by applying mutatis
mutandis the provisions of Article 187 of the Criminal Law."

    The provisions of the first paragraph of Article 31 regarding the
investigation for criminal responsibility according to law is amended to
read: (1) the wording "smuggling valuable relics out of the country" in
Item (2) is amended to read: "smuggling cultural relics, the export of which
is prohibited by the State;" (2) a new item is added, which reads:
"excavating and robbing sites of ancient culture or ancient tombs."

    The second paragraph of Article 31, which reads: "those who excavate
sites of ancient culture or ancient tombs without permission are punishable
for larceny", is deleted.

    The third paragraph of Article 31, which reads: "those who sell valuable
cultural relics in private collections to foreigners without permission are
punishable for smuggling valuable cultural relics out of the country," is
amended to read: "Any organization or individual who, without permission,
sells or presents as a gift to a foreigner any valuable cultural relics in
its, his or her collection, the export of which is prohibited by the State,
shall be deemed as smuggler and punished as such."

    This Decision shall take effect as of the date of its promulgation.