National Regulations of Taiwan concerning the export and import of cultural heritage and museum objects

Abstract

The beginning of the formation of the legislation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on the protection of cultural heritage and museum objects dates back to the end of the 19th century. First of all, immovable monuments were taken under protection. National Regulations of Taiwan concerning the export and import of cultural heritage and museum objects has evolved during the last two decades. Afterwards, changes of existing acts were made. The last significant updates were adopted in 2017. Despite the fact that many norms regulating the procedure for export and import and temporary export and import of cultural heritage are in conformity with legislation of other countries, Taiwan is not officially a state party of the UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Nevertheless, the current legislation of the Republic of China in the field of export and import cultural heritage and museum objects considers the provisions of this document, and the norms of the Convention is mainly considered as a guide for the law. At the same time, some provisions of the Taiwan legal documents are notable for specific features. The main documents regulating the procedure for the export and import of cultural property are: “The Cultural Heritage Preservation Act” (1982), “Application procedures for transportation of antiquities located in China imported into Taiwan for public exhibitions” (1999), “Application procedures of classification, registration and repeal of antiquities” (2005), “Application procedures for the Ministry of Culture on relics or artworks from other countries, China, Hong Kong and Macao into Taiwan for the purpose of exhibition” (2012), “The Museum Act” (2015), “Application procedures for transportation ofcultural heritage” (2017), “Application procedures for transportation of National treasures and important antiques” (2017).