On Jan 29, the Public Interest Litigation Procuratorial Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) held a meeting in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, to advance a public interest litigation supervision campaign for the protection of historical and cultural cities, towns, and villages along the Grand Canal.
The meeting reviewed campaign progress, explored ways to leverage public interest litigation to protect these cultural heritage sites, and promoted high-quality and effective case handling in the preservation of cultural relics and heritage by shifting from isolated and fragmented protection to a more comprehensive and systematic approach.
On Feb 25, 2025, the SPP launched this special campaign and held a related training session in Luoyang, Central China's Henan province. A mid-term review meeting followed on June 12 in Wuhu, East China's Anhui province, refining goals and providing targeted guidance for effective case handling.
Throughout 2025, procuratorates nationwide filed and handled 1,587 public interest litigation cases aimed at protecting historical and cultural cities, towns, and villages, accounting for 31.2 percent of total cultural heritage protection cases. The growing number of such cases has promoted the resolution of a number of long-standing preservation challenges.
The head of the SPP's Public Interest Litigation Procuratorial Department emphasized the importance of ensuring the high-quality and efficient handling of every case, calling for more precise, assertive and effective legal supervision. In cases where responsible entities fail to perform their statutory duties, resulting in ongoing harm to public interests, litigation must be initiated in accordance with the law to promote the protection of public interests through the "confirmatory" power of litigation.
The official also highlighted the need to prioritize the protection of linear cultural heritage. As the year 2026 marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March, efforts should be intensified to strengthen judicial protection of Long March-related cultural relics and heritage. This aligns with the development of the Long March National Cultural Park and aims to enhance the protection of revolutionary sites and remains along the historic route.
