On the morning of December 4, 2020, the fifty-second session of the Shizi Gate Law Forum (the second session of the academic year 2020-2021) was successfully held at N214 on campus of Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). The theme of this forum was “Legal Protection of Cultural Heritage”.
The Forum was honored to have Professor Wang Yunxia, UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage Law and Director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage Law of Renmin University of China Law School; Professor Li Weifang, Dean of the School of International Law of East China University of Political Science and Law; Professor Wang Meihong, School of Marxism of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine; Ms. Li Yuxue, Researcher at the Institute of Law and Sociology of Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences; and Dr. Hu Shanchen, faculty member of the School of Law, Minzu University of China, as speakers. Assistant Professor Bi Jingwei, Program Director of the MUST Faculty of Law was the moderator of the forum. Dean Professor Fang Quan, Assistant Professor Chen Bo, Assistant Professor Wang Jia and more than 100 students from the Law Faculty attended the forum.
At the beginning of the forum, Dean Professor Fang Quan presented the 20th anniversary souvenir to the guests to mark their visit at the 20th birthday of both the University and the Law Faculty.
Dean Professor Fang Quan (three from left) Presenting Gifts to Guest Speakers
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the inscription of the Historic Centre of Macao on the World Heritage List, the theme of this forum, “Legal Protection of Cultural Heritage”, has become one of the most important issues of concern nowadays. During the forum, Professor Li Weifang introduced the landmark Mahdi case of the ICC (International Criminal Court) which imposed criminal punishment on the intentional destruction of cultural heritage in armed conflict and analyzed the relationship between the destruction of cultural heritage and international crimes and other important issues. Researcher Li Yuxue analyzed the legal system and problems of architectural heritage protection in Mainland China and proposed to improve the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage regarding the criteria for the recognition of cultural heritage, as well as to establish a preliminary procedure for the assessment and recognition of architectural heritage for renovation projects of old urban areas and housing expropriation if the relevant areas are historical sites. Dr. Hu Shanchen advocated for the improvement of the standardization and operability of relevant laws and regulations, and the clarification of the interface between legislation and conservation management plans, taking into account the development, status and problems of the current local legislations on the protection of world cultural heritage in Mainland China.
Forum in Session
The scholars at the Forum discussed on the above cutting-edge issues. Professor Wang Meihong also proposed that, in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese medicine, as a kind of cultural heritage, also faced legal protection problems. Professor Wang Yunxia further clarified the importance of legal protection of cultural heritage and emphasized the importance of establishing a national awareness of cultural heritage protection. During the interactive session, the guests answered questions raised by many students from the Law Faculty. The whole forum lasted for nearly three hours.
After the forum, the guests participated in further exchanges with the doctoral students of the Law Faculty on legal research methods and visited the special collections of the MUST Library and the University History Exhibition Hall built for the 20th anniversary of the University.
Guests Participating in Doctor Students’ Class
Guests Visiting the University History Exhibition Hall Built for Its 20th Anniversary
Guests Visiting Special Collections of the MUST Library