The Chinese Customs Office has started to implement a new
regulation concerning cultural relics allowed exit from the
country. The new regulation also expands the scope of items that
are forbidden to be removed from China, the Guangming
Daily reported.
According to the new regulation, all cultural relics made before
1949 cannot be taken out of China. Previously, only relics produced
before 1795 (the last year of the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong's
reign) were not allowed exit from the country.
According to the new regulation, the year 1949 serves as a
landmark year for judging whether a cultural relic may be taken out
of China. The regulation states that, generally speaking, all
cultural relics that bear some historical, scientific or artistic
value and were produced in and before 1949 should not be taken out
of China. Items produced in and before 1911 (the last year of the
Qing Dynasty) are expressly forbidden to leave. For cultural relics
produced by ethnic minorities, the year 1966 serves as the landmark
year.
Cultural relics that might be detrimental to national interests
or whose exit might lead to some negative influence upon society
should not be taken out at all, no matter when they were produced,
according to the new regulation.
(China News Service September 18, 2007)