Chinese experts have urged accelerating legislation on world heritage protection, seeing more damage done to historic sites during the country's pursuit of economic growth and its urbanization trend.

Zhang Tinghao, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), attributed the frequent damage to the lack of laws.

Since 1982, China has classified 99 cities as "historic cities", but most of them are losing their distinctive ancient features in dynamic urban reconstruction and real estate development. Ruins and ancient streets still risk being demolished at any moment.

"China has no law on historic cities, and their protection still relies on relevant laws for city planning and cultural relics, which actually have little to do with historic cities and are especially short of contents on protecting ancient residential houses," said Zhang Xinjian, an official with the Ministry of Culture.

C. Stephen Hsu, professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, considered it imperative for China to establish a clear and efficient management mechanism, which includes a professional, united organ acquainted with international conventions and other countries' experience, under the framework of a special world heritage protection law.

Currently, the heritage protection still involves many sectors in China. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage has a world heritage department, the Ministry of Construction owns an office in charge of landscape and scenic spots, and the Ministry of Education also sets up a national commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), whose functions overlap with each other.

"The lack of special laws and decentralized administration often delay the settlement of many problems due to complicated procedures and slow feedback," Hsu said.

In recent years, domestic law experts have kept calling on legislation of world heritage protection. Premier Wen Jiabao also mentioned in the government work report during the annual session of China's top legislature in March that sound protection of natural and cultural relics is essential to the realization of comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of the economy and society.

"It has pointed a direction for the legislation, which is expected to combine the specific protection methods and contents with local economic development and city planning harmoniously," Hsu said.

The conflict of protection and development proves to be a global problem, with no exception in China.

Thirteen disputed power stations are now under construction within the confluence areas of three major rivers in southwest China's Yunnan Province, just after the landscape was listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in June last year.

The Wudang Mountain in central China's Hubei Province, declared a World Heritage site in 1994, saw its 600-year-old Yuzhengong Palace burnt to ashes last January in a fire caused by a careless employee of a martial art school, which illicitly rented the palace from the local cultural relics department.

Zhang Lianggao, a construction expert with the Central China University of Science and Technology, blamed the damages on the lag in legislation, saying many local governments treat historic sites as "economic development zones".

C. Stephen Hsu considered it easy to cause corruption if the protection of world heritage relied on simple administration rather than legal restriction.

However, he also pointed out that China's related legislation work has not been taken into the official agenda, and the drafting of a law would take at least three to five years after a series of investigations and deliberations.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2004)