The government has listed 400 items of significant cultural value as statutorily protected movable properties.
Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak and Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Deland Leong Wai Man made the announcement during a press conference at Government Headquarters yesterday. Wong is also the spokesman for the government’s top advisory Executive Council.
The Cultural Heritage Protection Law defines cultural heritage as comprising intangible cultural heritage and tangible cultural heritage that consists of classified immovable properties, i.e., cultural heritage construction structures, and movable properties.
According to the law, classified movable properties refer to items of significant cultural value such as musical instruments, sculptures, drawings, old books, and furniture.
This is the first time that the government has classified items of significant cultural value as statutorily protected movable properties, i.e., the first batch, since the Cultural Heritage Protection Law took effect in 2014.
The 400 newly classified items are listed in an administrative regulation, which was announced by yesterday’s press conference and will take effect on the day after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO).
Government-drafted administrative regulations, aka by-laws, do not require the legislature’s approval.
Unlike statutorily protected immovable properties, which cover both public and private construction structures, statutorily protected movable properties only cover items owned by public entities, according to the Cultural Heritage Protection Law.
During yesterday’s press conference, Wong noted that the government has drawn up the administrative regulation after assessing the opinions gathered during a one-month public consultation carried out between December 4 last year and January 2 and after consulting the government-appointed Cultural Heritage Council.
Wong said that the 400 items cover 24 categories, namely archaeological artefacts, worship objects, religious items, porcelains, ceramics, enamelware, drawings, prints, calligraphies, sculptures, stone inscriptions, textiles, furniture, decorative components, recreational materials, means of transportation, valuable manuscripts, rare books, maps, printed materials, official documents, letters, photographic records, and handmade fans.
Wong noted that all 400 items are part of the collection of the Macau Museum.
According to the law, the Cultural Affairs Bureau is tasked with assessing and deciding whether any items with potentially significant cultural value owned by itself and those owned by various other public entities should be classified as statutorily protected movable properties.
Leong said yesterday that her bureau will launch its process to assess the possible listing of other items with potentially significant cultural value in the second batch in due course from the collection of other cultural facilities.
Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak (right) and Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Deland Leong Wai Man address yesterday’s Executive Council press conference at Government Headquarters. – Photo: Tony Wong
