Sunday Times 2
‘Give us back our treasure’
David Cameron has been inundated with demands for the return of priceless artefacts looted from Beijing in the 19th century as his visit to China draws to a close.
The Prime Minister has to the southwestern city of Chengdu on the largest ever British trade mission to the country.
Recently, British officials set up a microblogging page on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, attracting more than 260,000 followers by Wednesday evening.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron stands before a painting before a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing December 2 (Reuters)
He invited Chinese citizens to ask questions, saying he would aim to reply during the visit.
One of the most popular questions was posted by a prominent Chinese think-tank, the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, which is headed by former vice-premier Zeng Peiyan and includes of the country’s government officials among its members.
The organization posed the question ‘When will Britain return the illegally plundered artefacts?’ referring to 23,000 items in the British Museum which it says were looted by the British army.
The British were part of the Eight-Nation Alliance that put down the Boxer Rebellion at the end of the 19th century, a popular uprising against the incursion of European imperial powers in China.
To the Chinese, the ransacking of the Forbidden City, and the earlier destruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860 remain key symbols of how the country was once dominated by foreign powers.
Batting away questions: Prime Minister David Cameron plays table tennis with primary school pupils during his trip to Chengdu, Sichuan province, but not all visitors have been so accommodating. A Chinese think tank has accused the British Museum of holding 'looted' artefacts (Reuters)
One British officer wrote at the time: ‘You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt.
‘It made one’s heart sore to burn them’.
Asked whether China was asking for the treasures to be returned, Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters Wednesday: ‘Relevant Chinese authorities are in communication with the government authorities of relevant countries.’
In response, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport in London said the ‘UK enjoys excellent cultural relations with China.
‘Questions concerning Chinese items in museum collections are for the trustees or governing authorities of those collections to respond to and the Government does not intervene.’
Britain has consistently rejected requests from other countries to return artefacts such as the Elgin Marbles.
The British Museum argues the objects are part of world heritage and are more accessible to visitors in London.
Beijing was outraged by Cameron’s meeting with the Dalai Lama – whom it condemns as a dangerous separatist – last year, which led to a diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
Despite the trip being billed as a trade mission, it has widely been seen as an attempt to repair some of the damage caused to China-British relations
But a leading state newspaper launched an attack on Cameron Tuesday, saying in an editorial headlined ‘China won’t fall for Cameron’s “sincerity”‘ that Britain should recognise it is not a major power but ‘just an old European country apt for travel and study’.
The prime minister has taken more than 100 businesspeople with him to China, including the heads of Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce and Royal Dutch Shell and the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange.
British officials say deals worth £5.6 billion ($9.2 billion) have been signed so far on the trip.
A spokesperson from the British Museum said: ‘There is clearly a serious misunderstanding. There are around 23,000 objects in the Museum’s Chinese collection as a whole, the overwhelming majority of them peacefully traded or collected.
‘Many indeed were made for export. Very few objects entered the collection, in the context of – even less as a result of – the Boxer Rebellion.
‘The Museum has not received any official requests for the return of any objects to China.’
© Daily Mail, London