Chinese officials intend to tighten controls on Web sites that display information about national archeological treasures.
This is apparently in response to incidents where thieves ransacked archeological sites by learning their secret location from Web sites, according to officials of China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH).
SACH is in charge of information released about China’s antiques and artifacts and launched a Chinese cultural heritage site earlier this year. Over 60 historical institutions and museums under SACH’s umbrella have also launched their own sites.
According to SACH officials, the relics that were stolen with the Web site information were smuggled out of the country and sold to collectors overseas.