China to consider cultural relics protection when evaluating officials

[File photo]

China's central government is considering weighing local officials' role in cultural relics protection more heavily in order to strengthen enforcement.

Efforts and success in protecting cultural relics will be considered in the performance evaluations of officials, said Gu Yucai, deputy head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, at a press conference on Friday.

Cultural heritage protection in China is often met with weak enforcement and lack of funding as officials' performance is mainly assessed based on their economic achievements.

Gu made the comments when explaining a policy document on cultural relics protection, which is still being modified and has yet to be released.

The directive will also likely add a clause that will hold officials accountable for any damage or theft of cultural relics, even when officials have been promoted or have retired, according to Gu.

The directive is in line with a draft law on the protection of cultural relics, which says officials will be evaluated on their efforts to protect cultural relics. Public opinion is currently being solicited on the draft law.