The UNESCO Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention in Asia: the case of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China

ABSTRACTThe UNESCO Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in 2009. Since then, it has been ratified by a total of 72 parties, but Cambodia remains the only one of these parties located in Asia. Against this backdrop, this article presents the case of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) located on the shores of the South China Sea. The Macao SAR has a strong economy, which relies primarily on the gaming services and tourist industries, but is seeking to diversify its economy in order to make it more sustainable. To this end, the article assesses the role of underwater cultural heritage in diversifying its economy and stresses the need for greater policy coherence both between different cultural policies but also between cultural, commercial and other policy areas.KEYWORDS: Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR)People’s Republic of China (PRC)world cultural heritageIntangible Cultural HeritageUnderwater Cultural HeritageCreative economy Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 UNESCO, “List of States Parties to the 2001 Convention”, https://en.unesco.org/underwater-heritage/ratification.2 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 16 November 1972, 1037 U.N.T.S 151 [WCH Convention].3 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, 17 October 2003, 2368 U.N.T.S 1 [ICH Convention].4 Recital 7 of the Preamble of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, 20 October 2005, 2440 U.N.T.S. 346 [CDCE].5 Art. 1 WHC, supra note 5.6 General Orders No. 100: Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field (Apr. 24, 1863) [Lieber Code].7 Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments, Washington, April 15, 1935, http://www.roerich.org/nr.html?mid=pact [Roerich Pact].8 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, May 14, 1954, 249 U.N.T.S. 216.9 Article 4 UNESCO adopted the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, 14 November 1970, 823 U.N.T.S 231; UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegal Exported Cultural Objects (Citation1996).10 Recital 6 of the Preamble of the WHC, supra note 5.11 Art. 1(1) Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, adopted in London, 16 November 1945, 4 U.N.T.S 275.12 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, 2 November 2001, 41 I.L.M. 40 (2002).13 Article 303 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Montego Bay, 10 December 1982, 1833 U.N.T.S 397 [UNCLOS].14 Art. 2 ICH Convention, supra note 6.15 Recital 7 of the Preamble of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, 20 October 2005, 2440 U.N.T.S. 346 [CDCE].16 Recital 18 and Art. 4(4) & (5) CDCE, supra note 7.17 Article 31 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC Constitution) (last amended on March 11, 2018); http://english.www.gov.cn/archive/lawsregulations/201911/20/content_WS5ed8856ec6d0b3f0e9499913.html.18 The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China [MBL] (entered into force on 20 December 1999), http://www.lawinfochina.com/display.aspx?lib=law&id=531&CGid=.19 Art. 12 MBL, ibid.20 Art. 108 MBL, ibid.21 Art. 10 MBL, ibid; Rostam J. Neuwirth (Citation2020).22 Art. 17 MBL, supra note 52.23 Art, 9 MBL, supra note 52.24 Notice of the Chief Executive No. 33/2001, B.O. No. 23/2001 (6 June 2001) 2648, https://bo.io.gov.mo/bo/ii/2001/23/aviso33.asp.25 UNESCO, “The Historic Centre of Macao (Nomination File)”, (Date of Inscription in the World Cultural Heritage List: 15th July 2005) [Italics added], http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1110.pdf.26 ICH Convention, supra note 6.27 Notice of the Chief Executive No. 32/2006, B.O. No. 38/2006 (20 September 2006) 9306-9321, https://bo.io.gov.mo/bo/ii/2006/38/aviso32.asp.28 Macau Cultural Heritage, “Intangible Cultural Heritage: Overview”, https://www.culturalheritage.mo/en/detail/2264.29 UNESCO, “Creative Cities Network: Mission Statement”, https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/sites/creative-cities/files/uccn_mission_statement_rev_nov_2017.pdf.30 Dispatch of the Chief Executive No. 184/2018 Official Bulletin No. 33/2018 (13 August 2018) 878-879, https://bo.io.gov.mo/bo/i/2018/33/despce.asp#184.31 Andrew W. Scott, “Extraordinary Macau concession RFP requirements seem out of touch with business reality, burdening concessionaires already on their knees from COVID-zero”, Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) (1 Aug 2022), https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2022/08/01/extraordinary-macau-concession-rfp-requirements-seem-out-of-touch-with-business-reality-burdening-concessionaires-already-on-their-knees-from-covid-zero/.32 Section I(2) of the Framework Agreement on Deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Cooperation in the Development of the Greater Bay Area [GBAFA], https://www.bayarea.gov.hk/filemanager/en/share/pdf/Framework_Agreement.pdf.33 See Ch. 8, s 2, para 1 of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area [GBAODP], https://www.bayarea.gov.hk/filemanager/en/share/pdf/Outline_Development_Plan.pdf.34 Hong Kong Underwater Heritage Group, “Database”, http://www.hkuhgroup.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=18&Itemid=14&lang=en.35 Direcção dos Serviços de Assuntos Marítimos e de Água (DSMA), https://www.marine.gov.mo/index.aspx.36 Macao Maritime Museum, https://www.marine.gov.mo/subpage.aspx?a_id=1432277593.37 Museum of Taipa and Coloane History, https://www4.icm.gov.mo/cotaimuseum/en/info.html.38 “Two more cannons dug up at Galaxy construction site”, The Macao News (2 March 2021), https://macaonews.org/culture/two-more-cannons-dug-up-at-galaxy-construction-site/.39 Chen Shuyi, “Oral History Association Advocates the Development of Archaeological Maps for Artefacts”, The Macao Daily (25 November 2020) [in Chinese language], http://www.macaodaily.com/html/2020-11/25/content_1477458.htm.40 Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey, “The World’s 7 Most Amazing Underwater Museums” (31 December 2021), https://www.travelawaits.com/2716996/worlds-most-amazing-underwater-museums/.41 Madison Dragna, “9 Best Underwater Hotels in the World”, https://www.tripstodiscover.com/best-underwater-hotels-in-the-world/.