CHINESE STAR ACCUSES WEST OF LOOTING ANCIENT HERITAGE

Jackie Chan comes out fighting for China's
looted sculptures after YSL sale

The Times, Feb 17 2009

Jackie Chan, the action film star, has thrown his weight
behind Beijing’s efforts to shame France over the sale of
two looted Chinese sculptures that were part of the Yves
Saint Laurent collection.

The bronze rat and rabbit, removed when British and French
forces sacked the Old Summer Palace in 1860, were sold for
¤14 million (£12.5 million) each to two anonymous bidders
last night, despite Chinese objections.

Mr Chan said France had behaved disgracefully in allowing
the sale. “They remain looted items, no matter whom they
were sold to. Whoever took it out [of China] is himself a
thief,” he said . “It was looting yesterday. It is still
looting today.”

The Rush Hour star accused Western countries of stealing
cultural relics from nations with ancient heritages such as
China, Egypt and Cambodia, while insisting they were doing
so only to preserve them. He said that he was planning to
make a film about the return of some of China’s stolen
national treasures, with filming scheduled to start next
year.

China, mindful of President Sarkozy’s support of Tibet and
the Dalai Lama at the Beijing Olympics, has been eager to
highlight the issue. The bronzes were among 12 animal head
sculptures that formed a zodiac-themed water clock in the
palace of Emperor Qianlong. China has bought back 5 of the
12 but said yesterday that it did not plan to buy any more.
“That would give the ‘stolen’ goods a coat of legitimacy,”
the Old Summer Palace museum said.

SARKOZY'S SILLY GAMES WITH CHINA

Up to Sarkozy to get ties back on track

By Zhang Haizhou
(China Daily)

It is up to French President Nicolas Sarkozy to put
Sino-French relations back on track, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

France holds the rotating presidency of the European Union
(EU) till the end of this year. And since Sarkozy is the
president of that country, his decision to meet with the
Dalai Lama in Poland on Saturday forced China to defer the
China-EU meeting, scheduled for Monday.

"The French president, who ignored China's concern, should
be fully responsible (for the downturn in bilateral
relations)," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a
regular briefing.

"This is the time for France to make an important decision
and we hope it will create conditions for advancing China's
relations with the EU and France," he said.

No likely date has been chosen for the meeting, and Liu
said it can only be held "in a proper atmosphere", for
which France must take "pressing measures".

Despite China's opposition, Sarkozy will go ahead with his
meeting with the Dalai Lama, said Feng Zhongping, director
of European studies at the China Institute of Contemporary
International Relations.

Sarkozy had angered Chinese earlier, too, by hinting that
he might not attend the Beijing Olympic Games Opening
Ceremony over the Tibet policy.

"Sino-French relations are likely to sour further," Feng
said. The 11th China-EU meeting, an annual event, could
eventually be cancelled because there are just four more
weeks left in the year, during which it would be hard to
find a date for the meeting.

The 12th China-EU meeting has already been allotted to the
Czech Republic, which takes over the EU presidency next
year.

China's decision to defer the meeting was taken "after
thoughtful deliberation", Feng said. There could have been
a chain effect had it not done so because some other
European leaders, too, want to meet with the Dalai Lama.

"Pulling out of the meeting is sending a message to other
countries to respect China's core interests," Feng said.

Deteriorating Sino-French ties are bothering Europeans in
China.

The EU Chamber of Commerce in China said it was
"disappointed that in time of global financial turmoil and
a significant economic slowdown the Chinese leadership
decided to postpone the EU-China meeting".

Wu Baiyi, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, suggested France should first focus on how to get
out of the financial turmoil.

"They (China and France) should first clarify what they
want to do." But, Wu said, Sarkozy's decision to meet the
Dalai Lama is an example of being "irresponsible to his own
people".