What it costs

Spurred by high profits in the sale of cultural relics, thefts and robberies are on the rise in Chinese museums, with criminals turning more organized, professional and violent. From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, 41 art pieces were taken in seven museum robberies across the country, causing three deaths and about 10 injuries.

For example, on April 11, 1994, three people holding homemade guns broke into the Fushan county museum in Shanxi province. They shot the staff worker on duty and stole five cultural relics. The employee was paralyzed, and his right kidney was removed.

On July 6, 1995, criminals whisked into the Jiangle county museum in Fujian province and stabbed deputy curator Liao Guohua 31 times. Liao died.

On Aug 8, 1996, three people sneaked into the Yongchang county museum in Gansu province. They struck staff worker Yao Zhihong with pincers and wooden sticks, tied him to a bed after he lost consciousness, and stuffed his mouth with a pillow cover. Yao died of suffocation. The criminals fled with 15 art pieces.

The central government has set up a special fund to subsidize museums, many of which have provided free admission since April 2008. The fund covers ticket sale losses, operation costs and exhibition arrangement costs, but does not include money for security.

According to a survey conducted by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2008, only 50 percent of key national museums were up to standards for technical security equipment and only 52 percent met the required criteria for firefighting.

The administration's director, Shan Jixiang, submitted a proposal in March during the Fourth Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He suggested the Ministry of Finance subsidize free-admission museums for security enhancement and accident insurance for security guards.

Now the proposal will sound more persuasive to lawmakers, said Wang Chao, who is a researcher at Lu Xun Museum in Beijing. "The incident is not totally bad. At least security facilities and the administration of museums across the country are likely to be upgraded."