Sacred place "visited" by thieves
Phu Tho, the birthplace of the Vietnamese people, has gone through thousands of years of history. This place currently preserves and conserves many historical and cultural relics. According to statistics, there are currently 1,064 relics and ruins in Phu Tho province. Of which, along with the Hung Temple Historical Relic Site, which is a special national relic, there are 73 national relics and 254 provincial relics (a total of 328 ranked relics). The relics all preserve many valuable antiques and relics, which have historical and cultural significance through many generations.
Therefore, relics have become the target of thieves and vandals. In recent years, many thefts have occurred, and many valuable antiques and artifacts have been stolen.
A typical case is the case of dozens of royal decrees (all original) at the 2,300-year-old International Temple in Di Nau Commune, Tam Nong District (Phu Tho) being discovered being publicly auctioned online in China in mid-April 2023. These royal decrees were determined to have been lost since May 2021. At night, taking advantage of no one watching, a daring thief broke in and used a crowbar to break the safe to steal.
Also in Tam Nong district, less than a year after the theft of the royal decree at Quoc Te temple, in March 2022, thieves "visited" Ha temple in Bac Son commune, taking away a number of antiques and artifacts... including 2 valuable royal decrees.
Support level for caretakers and protectors of relics in Phu Tho
In localities, the care and protection of relics is often assigned to a commune leader.However, in reality, the care, protection, preservation of relics, antiquities, artifacts and the practice of rituals are often assigned to the elderly, those who are dedicated, experienced and have a good understanding of local customs and rituals.However, most of these people are old, their health is not good, and the preservation and maintenance of relics and antiquities in some places is not good.
Along with that, in many localities, the authorities and people do not have a correct and sufficient awareness of their responsibilities in the work of preserving and promoting the value of heritage, and have the mindset of waiting and relying on support from management agencies, especially the view that the level responsible for a relic is still widespread.
Currently, those who directly look after and protect the nationally ranked relics in the area are receiving a support level of 36,000 VND/month/relic. This support has been implemented since the province was re-established in 1997. For provincially ranked relics, those who directly look after and protect them have not received financial support.
However, according to the new regulations, the caretakers and protectors of national-level relics will be supported with 700,000 VND/relic/month, and provincial-level relics will be supported with 500,000 VND/relic/month (each relic will be supported with 1 caretaker).
According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Phu Tho province, financial support for those directly looking after and protecting ranked relics is the most practical source of encouragement and motivation for them to improve their self-awareness and sense of responsibility for protecting and preserving relics in the area.
