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ming2015-11-26 13:52

Battle for the Buddha: Angry Chinese villagers sue Dutch art collector who
'refuses to return stolen statue' containing mummified remains of meditating
monk

Villagers in Yangchun, China, claim

statue was stolen from them in 1995

They have hired seven Chinese lawyers to bring the case to Dutch court
The relic, owned by a Dutch collector, is currently on display in Budapest
Chinese media said owner first agreed to return but now wants $20 million

After months of fighting and hundreds of signatures signed, villagers in
   Yangchun, south-east China's Fujian Province, have hired a group of top
   lawyers in hope of getting back a golden Buddha statue they claim belonged
   to them.

They believe the treasured relic was stolen from them 20 years ago and is
now in the hands of an unidentified Dutch art collector who is refusing to
return it, reports The People's Daily Online.

The Buddha, which is around 1000-years-old, also conceals the remains of a
mummified monk who was discovered inside the statue during a CT scan in February.

描述：the Buddha statue (left) containing a mummified monk (right) was stolen from their temple in 1995

图片：1.ezgw.cn.jpg

A group of Chinese villagers claim the Buddha statue (left) containing a
mummified monk (right) was stolen from their temple in 1995

描述：Scientists in the Netherlands were shocked after CT scan of the statue in February revealed mummified remains of meditating monk

图片：2.ezgw.cn.jpg

Scientists in the Netherlands were shocked after CT scan of the statue in
February revealed mummified remains of meditating monk

Mummified monk stolen from a village in Fujian Province, China

描述：The golden Buddha statue, which is currently on display at the Natural History Museum in Budapest

图片：3.ezgw.cn.jpg

The golden Buddha statue, which is currently on display at the Natural
History Museum in Budapest

图片：4.ezgw.cn.jpg

Pictured right is a Buddha once displayed at the temple in Yangchun village.

描述：a Buddha once displayed at the temple in Yangchun village.

图片：5.ezgw.cn.jpg

Locals believe it was the same statue owned by the unidentified Dutch collector

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评论1 来自于:ming

2015-11-26 13:59 0人喜欢

After going through private channels with the collector to negotiate the
   Buddha's return, nothing had been resolved, so representatives from the
   village signed an agreement with seven lawyers to bring the case to
   Dutch court.
It is thought that the Dutch collector first responded by agreeing to
   return the statue if it was proven to have belonged to a Buddhist
   community that still exists, but the owner later changed mind and asked
   for $20 million in trade for the statue, according to People's
   Daily Online.
Lin Wenqing, party chief of Yangchun village, claims the statue has been
   worshiped as a god in the village temple for around 1,000 years.
The mummified body inside the golden statue is said to be that of
   Zhanggong Zushi, a local monk who helped treat disease and spread
   Buddhist belief.
When he died at the age of 37, his body was mummified and placed inside
   the statue during China's Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Villagers in Yangchun believe the statue was stolen in 1995.
The only thing that was left behind was the hat and clothes which are
   still in the temple.
Liu Yang, who successfully led a Chinese legal team in recovering relics
   looted from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, is leading the group of
   lawyers to fight for the Buddha's return.

Liu said they have finished collecting evidence on the case and will bring
   it to court by the end of this year.
'The validity period for recovering the relic is going to expire next year.
   So we have pressure to complete the legal work quickly,' he said.
He added they are extremely optimistic about the case as there are 'no
   evident flaws or obstacles' in arguing the statue was stolen from the
   village temple.
According to the report, Liu will fly to the Netherlands in December to meet
   with a Dutch counterpart for the case.
In March hundreds of residents from the village wrote and signed a letter to
   Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, pleading for return of the Buddha.
The letter was handed to European-Chinese groups in the Netherlands, who
   delivered it via the Chinese embassy.
The golden Buddha statue is currently on display at the Natural History
   Museum in Budapest.

  Read more:
People's Daily Online en.people.cn/n/2...
Read more at the People's Daily Online


By CHLOE LYME FOR MAILONLINE
  PUBLISHED: 18:13 GMT, 20 November 2015 | UPDATED: 21:18 GMT, 20 November 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3327398/Angry-Chinese-villagers-sue-Dutch-art-collector-refuses-return-stolen-statue-containing-mummified-remains-meditating-monk.html
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hxcg.com/261

评论2 来自于:ming

2015-11-26 14:26 0人喜欢

Fujian villagers sue after Dutch collector refuses to return stolen god

A Buddha statue is displayed at the Natural History Museum in Budapest March 4, 2015. A Buddha statue from China that conceals the remains of a monk who turned himself into a mummy almost a millennium ago is the centerpiece of an exhibition in Budapest. Visitors to the popular "Mummy World" exhibition at the Natural History Museum see a golden statue of a sitting Buddha. [Photo/Agencies]

FUZHOU, Nov. 18 -- A group of Chinese villagers has hired a team of top lawyers to sue a Dutch collector after he refused to return a mummified Buddha statue believed to have been stolen 20 years ago.
Representatives from Yangchun Village, Datian County in southeast China's Fujian Province, have signed an agreement with seven lawyers to bring the case to Dutch court.
The village has gone through official and private channels to negotiate with the Dutch collector for the return of the statue, which was worshipped as a god in the village temple for around 1,000 years, Lin Wenqing, Party chief of Yangchun village, said.
The collector first responded by saying he was willing to cede the relic "if it is proven to have belonged to a Buddhist community that still exists," but later changed positions and rejected negotiations.
The statue is of a Buddha named Zhanggong Zushi, a local man who became a monk in his 20s and won fame for helping people treat disease and spreading Buddhist belief.
When he died at the age of 37, his body was mummified and placed in the statue during China's Song Dynasty (960-1279). The statue was worshipped in the village temple ever since.
It was displayed at a "Mummy World" exhibition at the Hungarian Natural History Museum, which opened in October last year. It was originally scheduled to be on display until May 17, but was pulled from the exhibition following allegations it was stolen.
In the temple, local people still display the statue's hat and clothes left behind after it disappeared.
Leading the group of lawyers is Liu Yang, who earned a reputation for successfully leading a Chinese legal team in recovering relics looted from the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan), which was burned down by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860.
Liu said lawyers have finished collecting evidence on the case and will bring it to court by the end of this year.
He said he is optimistic as there are "no evident flaws or obstacles" in arguing the statue was stolen from the village temple. It is also important the court knows the village has a deep spiritual connection with the statue and a sense of urgency in reclaiming it.
The Dutch collector claims he obtained the item in 1996. According to Dutch law, the time frame for civil litigation is 20 years.
"The validity period for recovering the relic is going to expire next year. So we have pressure to complete the legal work quickly," Liu said.
He will fly to the Netherlands to work with a Dutch counterpart for the case in December.
Hundreds of residents from Datian County wrote a letter to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in March, pleading for return of the Buddha. The letter was handed to European-Chinese groups in the Netherlands, which delivered it via the Chinese embassy.
"We believe this is the Buddha we have been searching for over the past 20 years and we look forward to its return," the letter said in both Chinese and English.
(Xinhua) 16:27, November 18, 2015 Fujian villagers sue after Dutch collector refuses to return stolen god
http://en.people.cn/n/2015/1118/c90000-8978580.html

评论3 来自于:ming

2015-11-26 14:34 0人喜欢

Buddha statue dispute to be taken to Netherlands court

One of the lawyers representing a village in Fujian province in its quest to win custody of a 1,000-year-old Buddha statue they say was stolen in 1995 said an appeal would be submitted to a Dutch court later this month.

The statue contains the remains of a mummified monk."We have finished the primary investigation and collection of evidence in Yangchun, Fujian province, in preparation for an appeal to the court in the Netherlands later this month," said Liu Yang, a Beijing lawyer specializing in ancient relics.

One key hurdle is proving that the statue is the same one that was stolen, Liu said.

The lawyers－seven from China and the Netherlands－are seeking to reclaim the Buddha statue from its Dutch owner, architect Oscar van Overeem.

Van Overeem said in a telephone interview with China Daily in May that he would return the artifact to China. He said he bought it for 40,000 Dutch guilders ($20,500) in 1996 from a collector in Amsterdam who had acquired it in Hong Kong.

But residents said that van Overeem's attitude has changed over the past six months, and he now wants $20 million to "compensate for the research and preservation of the statue for 20 years".

"We have to go to court," said resident Lin Yongtuan.

Yangchun residents say this statue is the one that was stolen from the village in 1995, though van Overeem claims to have proof it didn't come from there.

China Daily was not able to reach van Overeem on Monday.

Residents were busy with the observance of rituals to worship the statue on Monday.

"Although the Buddha statue was stolen in 1995, the annual ritual of worship was never interrupted," said Lin, one of the first residents to recognize the Buddha from pictures of artifacts in a public exhibition.

"When I saw pictures of the statue, I thought it looked like the one that was stolen from our village," Lin said.

The statue grabbed global attention in February after a scan revealed that it contained the mummified remains of a Buddhist monk. It was part of the Mummy World Exhibition at the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest, which had planned to display it until May.

Van Overeem, a private collector, had previously loaned the piece to the Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands. In the wake of news reports, the Budapest museum returned the relic to Assen.

In March, after seeing pictures of the statue, residents of Yangchun pointed out its resemblance to the one that was stolen in 1995.

Evidence suggesting the stolen statue is the one shown in Budapest has been presented by the Fujian Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage said later that it would communicate with van Overeem in hopes he would allow the Buddha's return to China.

However, van Overeem said he has proof that the statue did not come from the village.

He accused the residents of making up the story and said he could scientifically prove they were wrong and that the statue did not come from their village. He did admit, however, that the Buddha came from China. He said it had become a political football.

2015-11-17 09:37China DailyEditor: Wang Fan Buddha statue dispute to be taken to Netherlands court
http://www.ecns.cn/2015/11-17/188933.shtml

The Buddha statue on display at the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest in March. (Photo/Xinhua)

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