Fresh controversy has arisen over zodiac animal-head bronzes donated to the National Palace Museum’s Southern Branch in Chiayi County by Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan (成龍), which have been in storage for a decade.
The museum removed the sculptures from display in November 2016 amid accusations that they were Chinese propaganda that contained “reunification” messaging.
The statues are replicas of bronzes looted from China’s Old Summer Palace by British and French forces in 1860.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Chan, who is an active member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, donated them as movie props.
They were welcomed by then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Then-museum director Feng Ming-chu (馮明珠) designated the sculptures as public art and displayed them at the southern branch’s opening ceremony in 2015.
Photo: Taipei Times
Current museum Director Hsiao Tsung-huang (蕭宗煌) appeared at the Legislative Yuan today.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Jean Kuo (郭昱晴) asked where the sculptures are currently held, and whether keeping them in storage was a waste of space, public resources and funding.
The museum is not an “asylum,” she said, adding that artifact storage facilities require 24-hour surveillance, termite prevention and temperature control.
Hsiao said that the sculptures in question were never designated as cultural artifacts and are therefore kept in regular storage.
The museum would convene a meeting to decide the best way to deal with the sculptures, he added.
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