A collection of Chinese antiques, including three 18th-century bronze sculptures looted from China by British and French troops some 140 years ago, went on display in Taipei yesterday.
The exhibition -- the first of its kind ever held outside China -- was organized by an art museum belonging to a Chinese conglomerate to promote cultural exchanges, said Chen Hongsheng, the museum's vice president.
PHOTO: AP
At the exhibition hall, bronze sculptures of tiger, monkey and ox heads were displayed in a glass cabinet next to a painting of the opulent gardens of Yuan Ming Yuan (
In 1860, during the second Opium War, British and French troops occupied the area, looted its treasures and set fire to the palaces.
The bronze heads were part of a water clock featuring the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. The China Poly Group (保利博物館), a state-owned conglomerate, bought them for about US$4 million from auctions held by Sotheby's and Christie's in Hong Kong last year.
Chen said Chinese officials also hope to recover another four of the 12 animals originally belonging to the water clock: a horse head said to be in Taiwan; a boar's head said to be in the US and the heads of a rat and a rabbit held by a French collector.
The whereabouts of the others is unknown, he said.
Following the exhibition here, which is to last three months, the sculptures, together with bronze utensils and stone Buddha statues, will be displayed in Japan, France and Greece next year, he said.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS