On August 24^th, The forum to implement “Opinions on Further Strengthening the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage” (hereinafter referred to as the Opinion) was held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The aim of the forum was to learn the spirit of the Opinion and to focus on the implementation so as to promote the protection of intangible cultural heritage. Hu Heping, minister and the secretary of the leading party group of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, attended and delivered a speech. The forum was hosted by Wang Xiaofeng, member of leading party group.

    Hu Heping said that since the 18^th CPC National Congress, general secretary had payed great importance to the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. He delivered speeches and made significant instructions. He inspected intangible cultural heritage projects in many places and communicated with inheritors. The Opinion implemented the spirit of important speeches relating to the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage made by Xi Jinping and carried out decisions and arrangement of the central government. It also listed clear demands for guidance, working principles, main tasks and supporting measures, so it’s could be seen as a guiding document for the inheritance and protection of intangible cultural heritage in a new era. Learning and implementing the Opinion should be seen as an important task now and in the future. In addition, it must be combined with the learning of the spirit of the important speech delivered by Xi Jinping on the 100^th anniversary of the CPC and his speeches relating to the protection, inheritance and promotion of outstanding traditional Chinese culture. Learners should be more willing to study and to act. The government should have a clear understanding of basic requirements and rich content; enhance organizing and leading; clarify division of responsibilities; have a list of tasks and be sure that all policies and measures were implemented.

    Hu Heping stressed that we needed to solidify cultural confidence; build a country with strong culture; enhance senses of mission and responsibilities; have a clear understanding of the significance of intangible cultural heritage and adhere to principles of protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. The government should inherit cultural gene of Chinese culture; respect basic content of intangible cultural heritage; promote the value of intangible cultural heritage in the current era and encourage the innovative transformation and development of intangible cultural heritage. The authority needed to enhance the work structure that was led by the party committee and responsible to the government as well as required department coordination and social participation, so as to support, guide and standardize social participation in the protection of intangible cultural heritage and to form a system and social environment conducive to the protection. We needed to combine the priority of protection and reasonable exploitation and pay more attention to inheritor cultivation. We needed to solidify the consciousness of Chinese nation and improve the protection and inheritance of traditional outstanding handicraft of every ethnic group, so as to push forward the live protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. We needed to spend more effort to make intangible cultural heritage an integrated part of modern life and national strategy and let it have positive effect in economic development, urban and rural construction, social governance and livelihood improvement

    In the forum, a part of inheritors of Beijing-based intangible cultural heritages, institutes responsible for protection, experts, scholars and media representative exchanged their ideas on the implement of the Opinion and the protection of intangible cultural heritage in a new era. Attendees were from the Art Bureau of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and relating bureaus and departments of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.