Henan procuratorial organs promote systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage and boost the development of intangible cultural heritage industries

Pingdingshan City, an ancient land of Yuzhou with a long history, is the hometown of Qu Opera, the birthplace of magic, and the capital of Ru Porcelain, boasting a rich heritage of intangible cultural assets. It is home to 9 national-level, 47 provincial-level, 185 municipal-level, and 421 county-level representative projects of intangible cultural heritage, including the craftsmanship of Ru Porcelain and gold-inlaid jade.
Recently, The Paper followed the Supreme People’s Procuratorate’s new media interview team to visit the frontline of procuratorial work in Pingdingshan, Henan, where they observed the proactive measures taken by the local procuratorial organs in promoting the protection of intangible cultural heritage.
The Paper learned during local interviews that since 2023, the procuratorial organs of Pingdingshan City, Henan, have actively exercised their public interest litigation functions and intensified efforts in handling cases related to intangible cultural heritage, relying on the “Walking in Henan, Understanding China” Public Welfare Escort Special Action Work Plan. As of now, a total of 22 cases have been filed, 15 procuratorial suggestions have been issued, relevant administrative units have been urged to carry out special rectification activities 16 times, and 4 relevant mechanism documents have been jointly issued. Efforts have been made to establish a new pattern of professional, precise, normalized, and diversified protection for intangible cultural heritage, leveraging strong synergy to boost a wave of protection for intangible cultural heritage involving and requiring joint action from the whole society.
Promoting Systematic Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Staff from the Pingdingshan Municipal Procuratorate introduced that to promote the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage, the Pingdingshan Municipal Procuratorate has issued the “Opinions on Leveraging Procuratorial Functions to Promote the Protection and Development of Intangible Cultural Heritage” and the “Guidance for Handling Public Interest Litigation Cases in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection by the Pingdingshan Municipal Procuratorate”. It has deployed a “Special Supervision Action for Public Interest Litigation in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection” across the city and issued institutional mechanisms such as the “Evidence Standards for Public Interest Litigation Cases in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection” to drive high-quality and standardized protection work for intangible cultural heritage.
Procuratorial organs have visited Ru Porcelain enterprises, conducted legal publicity activities, and learned about the craftsmanship of Ru Porcelain. Image provided by the interviewed unit.

“The protection of intangible cultural heritage is a comprehensive systematic project. Procuratorial organs across Pingdingshan have focused on supervising important foundational work in the management and protection of intangible cultural heritage as well as difficult issues involving multiple management through individual case handling and case category supervision.” The aforementioned staff pointed out that the Ruzhou Municipal Procuratorate, leveraging the advantage of being the origin of Ru Porcelain, has intensified efforts to crack down on behaviors imitating Ru Porcelain from the origin, thus promoting market regulation and purification. The Baofeng County Procuratorate has carried out industry-specific rectifications focusing on the twice-distilled brewing technique of Baofeng liquor, the intellectual property protection of Baofeng liquor, and rap. The Jiaxian County Procuratorate has targeted the provincial-level intangible cultural heritage of making Hele noodles, focusing on cracking down on activities that illegally use the “Jiaxian Hele Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor” logo for business operations. This has initially formed a “porcelain, liquor, rap, and food” four-in-one supervision pattern, with a focus on supervising porcelain, liquor, rap, and foods such as Hele noodles.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned staff also mentioned that various regions have seized the opportunity of creating the “Procuratorate Blue Guarding the Beauty of Intangible Cultural Heritage” brand in Henan to actively integrate the case-handling capabilities of procuratorates at two levels for unified performance of duties and establish a professional case-handling team for public interest litigation in the protection of intangible cultural heritage. The chief procurators take the lead in handling cases. A “team for handling intangible cultural heritage cases” has been formed with six procurators and assistants from procuratorates at two levels, an investigation team consisting of three judicial policemen and two technicians, and three intangible cultural heritage experts have been hired as special assistant procurators. By seeking external assistance and integrating internal resources, professional collaboration has been achieved to strengthen supervisory power.
Additionally, the procuratorial organs have also deepened the three-dimensional and precise training model of “training + case handling + research” by convening work planning meetings for professional case-handling teams for the protection of intangible cultural heritage, organizing team members to take turns in giving lectures on the protection of intangible cultural heritage, using cases for training, using training to promote research, and using research to improve quality.
Extending Governance to Support the Development of Intangible Cultural Heritage Industries
Besides promoting the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage, The Paper also learned from the Pingdingshan Municipal Procuratorate that the local procuratorial organs have also extended governance to support the development of intangible cultural heritage industries.
Currently, procuratorial organs have established procuratorial liaison stations in key counties and cities with intangible cultural heritage, moving supervision and services closer to the grassroots, listening to grassroots opinions, and exploring new paths for “front-end preventive” protection. Relevant staff from the Pingdingshan Municipal Procuratorate introduced, “The Ruzhou Municipal Procuratorate has set up a public interest litigation procuratorial liaison station for the protection of Ru Porcelain culture in the Ru Porcelain Town; the Baofeng County Procuratorate has established procuratorial liaison stations for the protection of cultural heritage in the Rap Center, Dahuang Village, and other places.”
Meanwhile, the Baofeng County Procuratorate has also conducted thorough research and investigations into the current situation, existing problems, and causes of the county’s intangible cultural heritage, such as “rap” and “Ru Porcelain”, and submitted the “Research on Public Interest Litigation in the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage by Procuratorates” to the county party committee and government. The county party committee and government have convened three meetings to specifically study and deploy the county’s protection work for intangible cultural heritage and, based on the suggestions of the procuratorial organs, have established public interest litigation bases in four locations, including the Majie Book Fair.
Relevant staff from the Pingdingshan Municipal Procuratorate stated that the procuratorial organs have also urged relevant departments to strengthen daily supervision of the origin, product names, raw materials, production techniques, and other aspects of Ru Porcelain products with geographical indications, carry out actions to combat fake Ru Porcelain and protect rights, and regulate production behaviors. “Currently, the number of Ru Porcelain production and sales enterprises and research and development institutions in Ruzhou City and Baofeng County has rapidly increased to nearly a thousand, with an annual output value exceeding 3 billion yuan. Products are exported to over 30 countries and regions, including Japan, Singapore, and the United States.”