from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Nazi, er.... British Art Sale of Looted Chinese Art Banned by Hong Kong Hey. The Queen won the Opium Wars. Grin and bear it. SALES of artworks looted from China as long ago as the Opium Wars of the 19th century may be banned by the Hong Kong government. The move would threaten the former British colony's status as a world centre of the trade in Chinese artworks. The Hong Kong government said yesterday it was reacting to outrage over sales held by Sotheby's and Christie's in Hong Kong this month which featured porcelain and bronzes looted by British and French troops from the imperial Old Summer Palace near Beijing 140 years ago. A spokesman for the Home Affairs Bureau said: "We are very aware of the reaction of the community. We are looking at this issue now, together with government lawyers, and studying all the implications. It is not an easy question, and involves international law, national and local laws." Existing treaties on stolen artworks would be hard to apply retrogressively to items stolen by the armies of Victorian Britain and other 19th century powers. But pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong are calling for all "looted" cultural relics to be returned to the mainland. The current owners would receive compensation. Choy So-yuk, of the Progressive Alliance, said that if the government failed to legislate, she would table a private member's bill. She is demanding an apology from Sotheby's and Christie's as a first step to atoning for the sales, which she said had "re-opened the wounds" of the Chinese people. The auction houses, which insist that they broke no law, defied requests from the Chinese government to halt the sales. One of China's richest state-owned corporations, the Poly Group, paid £2.6 million to return a set of bronze ox, tiger and monkey heads to the mainland. A company owned by the Beijing municipal government paid £1.6 million for a rare vase. The three bronzes went on display yesterday in heavily guarded Beijing offices owned by the Poly Group, a former trading arm of the People's Liberation Army. They were flanked by displays denouncing Christie's and Sotheby's for paying "no heed to the solemn and just statement of the Chinese government, nor to the cries of the voices of justice at home and overseas". The heads were part of a water clock designed by Jesuit missionaries for the Old Summer Palace, which was looted and burned by British and French troops under the command of the Earl of Elgin, in punishment for imperial resistance and the murder of his envoys. The London Telegraph, May 30, 2000 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html <A HREF="http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
