China launches crackdown on cultural relic crimes

BEIJING -- China's police and cultural relic authorities have launched a five-month crackdown campaign on cultural relic-related crimes.

The Ministry of Public Security and National Cultural Heritage Administration announced the campaign at a video conference held in Beijing Wednesday.

Cultural heritage authorities were asked to closely cooperate with police and strengthen both their early warning capability and the prevention of cultural relic-related crimes.

Police departments at all levels were also required to maintain high vigilance in policing such crimes, and beef up efforts in tracking down stolen cultural relics and facilitating international cooperation.

More than 1,200 cultural relic-related crimes were solved in a similar six-month crackdown last year, during which more than 8,400 individual cultural relics were retrieved.