He Suzhong, deputy director of the Policies and Regulation Department of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in Beijing, Thursday urged local residents to participate in protecting the city’s cultural heritage, while urging the local government to increase public awareness of cultural protection rules.
He made the appeal on the sidelines of a ceremony organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) to kick off a series of activities the bureau is carying out to promote the Cultural Heritage Protection Law which will take effect on Saturday.
The senior official officiated over the ceremony which was held at one of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage sites – the Mandarin’s House, which is part of “The Historic Centre of Macau” which was inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List in 2005.
Asked by reporters for his comments on how to balance the development of the city and the protection of its cultural heritage, He said that proper legislation was a very important means to protect cultural heritage.
“For Macau to protect its cultural heritage is very important…through legislation I believe the city’s cultural heritage will be better protected,” He was quoted by The Macau Post Daily as saying. He added, “The most important thing is public participation [in the protection of cultural heritage] …or it is useless despite many pieces of legislation put into effect.”
He also said that the government should do more to raise public awareness of cultural heritage regulations so that locals will be more eager to support the government’s cultural heritage protection efforts.
Talking to reporters, He also urged the city’s policy-makers, residents and developers to regard the protection of cultural heritage as a matter of public interest.(macaunews)
