Legislators yesterday questioned the National Palace Museum's
"Sources say that the annual budget for museum procurements is just NT$50 million. The amount is so limited that it has to be spent on the right pieces. However, according to the museum's documented purchases for 1998, NT$1.35 million was spent on a stone palette supposedly from the Shang Dynasty. However, its market value has been proven to be no more than NT$100,000," said DPP legislator Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻).
"Furthermore, two neolithic period jade ornaments cost the museum more than NT$420,000, yet Chinese authorities have declined to authenticate the historic pieces. The museum has apparently bought fakes," Chen said.
These purchases were made either because museum officials lacked sufficient professional knowledge or because of "special relations" they had with suppliers of ancient artifacts, Chen said.
The legislator urged the museum's new director, Tu Cheng-shang (杜正勝), to look into the matter and punish the officials responsible for the purchases for what he said was corruption.
During his first policy report to the legislature, the new president appeared baffled when challenged by the DPP lawmaker.
Responding to the accusations, Tu said he was not able to offer any explanations at the moment because he had not seen the documents mentioned.
"However, I'll launch an immediate investigation into the matter and I promise that disciplinary action will be taken if any misconduct is confirmed," Tu said.
When confronted with the allegations by the Taipei Times, Chang Kuang-yuan (張光遠), a museum department director, said that all procurements had been made after thorough research and assessment, and that it was highly unlikely such mistakes could be made.
"Opinions given by specialists and those offered by laymen need to be weighted appropriately," Chang said, "The media shouldn't propagate groundless accusations."
"Another misconception that needs to be corrected is that `valuable' antiques are by definition expensive to purchase. We only pay `reasonable' prices for our curios. Prices are always negotiable, and we try to get as much of a discount as we can," Chang said.
"In some cases the dealers, out of ignorance, have little knowledge about the real value of their artifacts. So sometimes we obtain real treasures at unbelievably low prices. People should not evaluate an antique solely upon its cost," he said.
Regarding to the two jade ornaments excavated in China, Chang said the Chinese authorities only release reports on artifacts excavated by official archaeologists.
"Discoveries by amateurs are never formally announced," Chang said.
Legislators also debated whether to rename the museum, a point that drew a mixed reaction.
People First Party legislator Chin Huei-chu
"The museum should aim to establish itself as an authoritative institution that is dedicated to Chinese works of art. Its existing name should be retained," Chin said.
DPP legislator Yen Chin-fu (顏錦福) took the other stance, saying that the national palace referred to is the Forbidden City in China.
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