According to the WeChat official account of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, on September 23 local time, a handover ceremony was held in China's embassy in the UK for the return of 12 lost cultural relics and artworks to China. Rao Quan, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism and Director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, delivered a speech via video. Also present at the ceremony were China's Ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, representatives from the Metropolitan Police Department in London, the UK Foreign Development Department, the UK Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Department, and representatives from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
China stated that promoting the return of lost cultural relics to their original countries is a just action towards maintaining the security of cultural relics in all countries, respecting the cultural rights and national emotions of people around the world, and protecting the achievements of human civilization. The return of these cultural relics is another important achievement of both China and the UK in practicing relevant international conventions and protecting cultural heritage.
The British side stated that the return of these cultural relics is a positive result of their pragmatic cooperation, and it also reflects the mutual respect between the two countries and their determination to jointly combat the illegal trafficking of cultural relics.
The 12 cultural relics and artworks returned by the UK were seized by the Metropolitan Police Department in London during the investigation process. Both China and the UK are parties to the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property. Under the framework of this convention, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage worked closely with the British side through the Chinese Embassy in the UK to successfully achieve the return of these cultural relics and artworks.
Previously, in October 2020, the UK returned a batch of cultural relics to China. At that time, the Metropolitan Police Department in London handed over 68 smuggled cultural relics seized earlier to the Chinese Embassy in the UK. This is an important landmark achievement in the field of cultural relic recovery and return between China and the UK.
In recent years, China has continuously increased efforts to recover lost cultural relics and has reached bilateral agreements with many countries for the return of such artifacts. On September 16th and 17th, local time, the National Cultural Heritage Administration received two batches of a total of 64 cultural relics, artworks, and paleontological fossils returned to China by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., and New York.
