Interesting perspective

Submitted by Kepha Hor (United States), Dec 28, 2011 at 20:48

When I was a college student back in the 1970's, it was a given among so many in Chinese language and historical studies in the States that the Palace Museum collection in Taipei rightfully belonged on the Mainland and its having been brought to Taiwan was proof of what a horrible thief Old Chiang was. Well, having seen both the Taipei collection and what was left on the Mainland, I think Old Chiang was a hero of World Civilization--especially since it was already known what was happening to Mainland China's remaining art treasures in their cities and provinces of origin.

Also, given that the Greek rebels had little respect for the Acropolis when they were fighting the Turks (probably, to a man, they considered their "real" capital to be Constantinople), I think that neither Britain nor Germany need apologize to Greece for what men like Lord Elgin and Heinrich Schliemann removed.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".