The Committee,
- Having examined document ITH/17/12.COM/8.c,
- Recalling Chapter V of the Operational Directives and its Decision 5.COM 5.1,
- Expresses its thanks to China for submitting its report on the status of the element ‘Meshrep’, inscribed in 2010 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding;
- Takes note of the continued efforts undertaken by China to safeguard the element, especially through the improvement of its transmission mechanisms, the promotion of public knowledge of Meshrep and, in particular, the training of young people by experienced bearers to continue to increase the viability of the element and respond to existing threats and risks;
- Invites the State Party to continue developing the regulatory and policy frameworks for inventorying the element and creating favourable conditions for representative bearers to take on apprentices and participate in demonstration and exchange activities, surveying and recording Meshrep, supporting transmission centres in the communities concerned, organizing academic conferences on Meshrep and enrolling postgraduate students in research degrees focusing on this element and its components;
- Encourages the State Party to effectively address the problems resulting from the fast transformation from a traditional agricultural society to a modern industrial one and the potentially negative impacts of mass culture on traditional cultural elements, bearing in mind that there is also an urgent need to maintain and preserve a social environment favourable to the element;
- Requests that the Secretariat inform the State Party at least nine months prior to the deadline of 15 December 2018 about the required submission of its next report on the status of this element.