In recent years, Chinese standards of living have improved and China’s national strength has grown. Subsequently China’s voice carries more weight, which in turn enhances the government’s ability to recover lost historical relics. Yet there is also a growing global movement, as developing countries grow increasingly vociferous in their demands for the return of lost antiquities…
“These cultural relics are the witnesses of history and precious cultural treasures. Their loss causes a gap in the study of history. Moreover, for Chinese people, the loss of cultural relics represents a history of being insulted and invaded, so rescuing them can give Chinese people a feeling of patriotism.”
More than 200 cultural relics were stolen in China in 2004, according to this article in People’s Daily.
