Comments on: Mr. Cai Mingchao, You Are Wrong!

By: Roger

Roger — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:35:05 +0000

Interesting perspectives here on Cai Ming Chao. If you are following this you will probably already have seen the aftermath ( http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/2010/06/18/chinese-buyer-who-refused-to-pay-for-looted-bronzes-weeps-as-he-realizes-that-his-credibility-is-shot/ ) in that basically his credibility as an international buyer is now shot. From what I have read though it seems he kind of stumbled into this without really thinking through the potential consequences.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:37:02 +0000

Mr. Cai absolutely did the right thing. It is repugnant that France would dismiss the case. When International law creates legitimacy in stolen artifcats…this allows any culture with mere brute force to steal the cultural treasures of other nations i.e the British stealing Iran’s human rights charter, or France stealing Egypt’s relics, etc… It is a joke to undermine these countries under the pretense of human rights when it is well known that the greatest aggressors are the western imperial powers. Such a tragedy.

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Wed, 04 Mar 2009 03:46:36 +0000

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By: BF

BF — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:29:36 +0000

I think he did the right thing. The Chinese government has gone through all justifiable means to claim the looted relics. Cai’s act came as a pleasant surprise when there is nothing else China can do to stop an obvioulsy wrong act by Christies. Christie’s didn’t loot it, but you don’t sell stuff your neighbor’s kid stole and ask you to sell on ebay. Of the two acts, Christie’s was of a more severe nature than Cai’s.

Hui, the relics being designed by an Italian was mentioned in Chinese media. But that doesn’t prove anything. Using your logic, the statue of liberty, originally a gift from France, should not belong to the Americans either. Can a Chinese auction company sell that?

By: Hui

Hui — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:56:02 +0000

Neither Cristie’s nor Mr. Berge stole or looted.

Who holds the right of cultural heritage? Han or Manchu? Or should Italian say they owned the statues because the bronze statues were made by Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione? If fact, almost no Chinese newspaper made the point that they were designed by an Italian.

The responsibility is not just about stopping the transaction of the relics, but also should include show the tolerant and collaborative attitude that is equivalent to the ever-increasing national pride. True, British and French were looters and robbers more than 150 years ago; but now Mr. Cai would be condemned from a global point of view.

By: jw

jw — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:40:29 +0000

you are wrong.

there is no need to appear “responsible” before looters and thieves

there is no need to appear “law-abiding” when the french court ruled the auction of stolen treatures legal.