BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Commercial activities centering on relics looted from China by imperialist invaders in previous centuries are always a touchy topic for many Chinese, who believe the current owners should pay more respect to the precious items.
The recent attempt by British auctioneer Bonhams to sell antiques looted from the Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, by British and French military forces in 1860 was the latest auction overseas that incited fury among Chinese.
Objections from China made the owner of the two jade carvings, which were originally planned for auction on Thursday, withdraw them from Bonhams, citing reasons to "avoid offence."
But in 2009, two bronze heads of the rat and rabbit, parts of a Zodiac fountain once situated in Yuanmingyuan, were auctioned by Christie's in Paris as the estate of late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.
The items were finally sold for 19 million U.S. dollars each to a phone-in buyer. The man, later turned out to be Chinese collector Cai Mingchao but he refused to pay, saying that he placed the bids out of patriotism.
Although the de facto ownership of these antiques are legal in the owners' countries, ethically speaking, unthoughtful disposition of the items hurts the feelings of their original owners and should not be encouraged.
While some of the current owners can be relied on to handle the matters appropriately, more explicit regulation is needed to guarantee that the antiques are taken proper care of.
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