This photo shows a lead typeface at Kwong Wah Printing on March 30, 2023 in Hong Kong, China. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Hong Kong Customs established its first team in July to identify national cultural heritage and assist in a crackdown on the illegal smuggling of cultural treasures.

The National Cultural Heritage Identification Team comprises 30 officers from various disciplines of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department.

The course was co-organized by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department

Their main responsibility is to support other front-line officers in identifying and handling national cultural heritage, and training officers to improve their ability and awareness in preventing the smuggling of cultural relics.

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Besides, the team is tasked with collecting and analyzing intelligence relating to the smuggling of cultural relics. Officers will join other law-enforcement agencies in investigating cases involving the smuggling of cultural relics.

After its establishment, the team attended a special training course in Xi’an, Shaanxi province from July 9 to 14 with its colleagues from the Chinese mainland and Macao.

The course was co-organized by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department. 

Sixty-one law enforcers and cultural heritage conservation officers from the three teams participated in the six-day course, which featured lectures about anti-smuggling measures to preserve cultural heritage, and laws and enforcement strategies practiced on the mainland. 

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Participants also visited the Shaanxi Archaeological Museum, Shaanxi History Museum, and Shaanxi Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, to enhance their effectiveness in identifying and handling cultural heritage.

Lau Yuk-lung, group head (Intelligence Coordination) of Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, told a news conference on Friday that the department will continue to cooperate with the NCHA to train more professionals in combating the smuggling of cultural heritage. 

Chang Man-kit, assistant staff officer (Trade Relations and Public Communication) of the department, said he hopes that the establishment of this team will help combat smuggling and improve officers’ law enforcement capabilities.