Auction Houses Urged to Stop Sale of Looted TreasuresThe State Administration of Cultural Relics urged two Hong Kong auction houses on Saturday to stop the sale of treasures looted from the Yuanmingyuan (an imperial garden in Qing Dynasty located in the northwestern suburb of Beijing) by British and French troops in the second Opium War in 1860.The bureau said that the auctions of Chinese antiques in Christie's and Sotheby's on Sunday and Tuesday in Hong Kong will hurt the feelings of people. "It shows no respect to Chinese laws or international treaties," the bureau said. Some antiques of this kind were already auctioned off yesterday afternoon, sources said. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said in 1995 that any cultural relics looted or lost in wars should be returned to home, no matter when the war took place or the request was made to return the relics. The bureau said that the principle has been agreed upon by the world and the UNESCO will discuss the issue of putting it into treaties in May. In addition, China has claimed its right of ordering the return of looted or lost antiques back in 1996 when signing an international treaty on the return of cultural relics. The auctions by Christie's and Sotheby's should be stopped because it is in defiance of the principle, the bureau said. |
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