Officials yesterday rejected China's offer to hold a joint arts exhibition out of fears that China might seize artefacts which were transported from China by the Nationalists when they withdrew to Taiwan in 1949.
"I can not respond to the suggestion from China's Palace Museum. Our main concern is the safety of the artefacts of the National Palace Museum [of Taiwan]," National Palace Museum Director Tu Cheng-sheng (
On Thursday, Zheng Xinmiao (
"Holding a joint exhibition can give visitors a complete picture of the treasures in the two palace museums," Zheng told Beijing-based Taiwan reporters.
Regarding fears that China might impound the artefacts, Zheng said China has its rules and security measures concerning loaned artefacts.
"There is not a question of Taiwan's artefacts being seized by China. When the show of Taiwan artefacts is held in China, we can hold a show in Taiwan of artefacts of equal -- or higher -- value," he said.
Beijing's Palace Museum and Taipei's National Palace Museum began cultural exchanges in 1992 as cross-strait tensions began to ease.
The two museums have collaborated in compiling catalogues of Chinese treasures and the Palace Museum has held exhibitions in Taiwan.
China's Palace Museum, which is at the site of the old red-walled imperial palace -- the Forbidden City -- in Beijing, holds the world's largest collection of Chinese art -- 930,000 pieces.
Taiwan's National Palace Museum holds the world's second-largest collection of Chinese art -- 600,000 pieces.
All of them were brought to Taiwan from China in 1949 when the Chinese Nationalist government lost the civil war and fled to Taiwan.
The artefacts at the National Palace Museum are smaller in size but are considered the best pieces from Beijing's Palace Museum.
China considers the art works at the National Palace Museum the heritage of China and could claim them if they go on display in China or abroad.
Fears that the artefacts will be impounded has meant that the National Palace Museum has sent the treasures abroad only twice -- to the US in 1996 and to France in 1998.
Next month it will send its treasures to Germany for an exhibition in Berlin and then in Bonn, until next February.
Negotiations on the show dragged on for 10 years because Officials insisted on receiving a guarantee that the exhibits will return to Taiwan, instead of being held by Germany and given to China. China has diplomatic ties with Germany.
Germany granted the art treasures immunity from attachment by China, by extending a EU law which requires artefacts on display in the EU to be returned to their country of origin.
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