Dutch collector puts conditions on stolen Buddha statue's return to China

A CT scan shows a body, whose internal organs were removed, concealed in an ancient Chinese statue of a Buddha. [Photos provided by the Drents Museum]

Li Zhen, the overseas liaison officer in Hungary of Yangchun village for the Buddha statue issue told the China Daily website that lawyers from different law offices in China and Holland are involved in the group headed by Liu Yang, a noted criminal defense and cultural relics related lawyer. They had prepared for evidence collection as well as legal argumentations for a long time.

Li also commented that Oscar van Overeem's requirements were excessive and unreasonable. "The collector insisted to place the statue in South Putuo Temple for better protection and for more people to visit. Actually, he worried too much. The villagers promised to improve the display condition of Puzhao Temple. He should not damage the faith of the locals to Patriarch Zhanggong, their ancestor," said Li.

"The Chinese side conveyed their will on offering assistance to Mr. Overeem's research in China from many channels. However, that should be after the statue's return. Now, even before the negotiation on the statue's return, he criticized that Chinese side didn't deliver the agreement. That's really nonsense. Moreover, China has the right to claim for its stolen cultural relics unconditionally. It is unreasonable that the collector wanted to sell it with other so-called cultural relics to China."