An estimated 1.64 million Chinese relics are owned by foreign museums, SACH said. Even more than that are owned by private collectors. A great number were looted, stolen and smuggled out of China between the 1860s and 1949 when the country was subjected to colonial invasion and civil wars.
Most experts say China has little legal claim in international courts because most relics were looted more than a century ago. But China is putting up a vigorous fight on it. In recent years it has been striving to fight international smugglers who continue to loot historic sites in the country and peddle items on the black market.
After more than three years of diplomacy, the Bush administration reached an agreement with China last month to ban the import of a wide range of Chinese antiquities into the United States, in an effort to discourage illegal trade in artifacts.
Under the current circumstances, the best way to get the relics back is through diplomatic channels. An agreement between Chinese and foreign governments is the most effective and direct way to tackle this issue. If an agreement is not practical in the short term, two parties could at least start negotiations on a certain relic.
"I know what we want to do is difficult. But we can't hold back because of difficulties. A breakthrough will be made only when you start to make it," said Liu Yang, one of the lawyers working to get the rabbit and rat heads back through legal means.
Editor: Hu Zhicheng
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