Podcast
Campaign targeting gangs that rob tombs
Updated: 2011-05-12 11:00
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China's police and heritage protection authorities on Wednesday kicked off a nationwide operation to fight the theft of cultural relics.
"Gangs committing the crimes are becoming professional and organized ... The crimes are getting more intelligent, professional and modernized," Zhang Xinfeng, vice-minister of public security, said on Wednesday. "Tomb robberies are especially serious."
The Ministry of Public Security and State Administration of Cultural Heritage stated that the aim of the eight-month operation is to "tackle the underground market and decisively reverse the high-rate of crime."
Zhang pointed out that the prices of Chinese cultural relics on international and domestic markets are continuing to rise, fueling "collection fever" and "investment fever" on the pieces.
The Chinese art market has seen strong growth in recent years. According to a report released in 2010 by artprice.com, a website focusing on art market information, China reported annual revenue of $830 million, accounting for 17.4 percent of the global market, up from 7.7 percent in 2008.
A rare hand scroll copy of ancient Chinese calligrapher Wang Xizhi's work sold for a staggering 308 million yuan ($47 million) at an auction in Beijing in November.
Zhang said the latest revision of the Criminal Law that took effect on May 1 eliminated the death penalty for robbing ancient tombs, which may lead to more tomb robberies.
According to an annual report on crimes, tomb robbers have shifted from less populated regions to State-level or provincial-level cultural heritage protection regions, from breaking into unnamed tombs to those belonging to emperors and nobles, and from unearthing gold, silver and china to stealing sculptures and pagodas.
Jin Gaofeng, assistant professor at the Chinese People's Public Security University and a co-author of the report, said "tomb robbers tend to be more family-based. They even pass down the know-how and skills from generation to generation".
The Ministry of Public Security and State Administration of Cultural Heritage dismantled 71 gangs, detained 787 suspects and recovered 2,366 cultural relics from December 2009 to June 2010.
Questions:
1 What is the aim of a recent campaign against tomb robbers?
2 What is thought to be a reason for the increase in such crimes?
3 What is the penalty for robbing tombs?
Answers:
1 To tackle the underground market and reverse the high-rate of crime.
2 Prices of Chinese cultural relics on international and domestic markets are continuing to rise, fueling "collection fever."
3 The latest revision of the Criminal Law that took effect on May 1 eliminated the death penalty
（中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.
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