US hands over Tibetan Buddhism relics to China
Some of the 41 cultural artifacts, including Tibetan Buddhist relics, that the Manhattan district attorney's office handed over to China on March 3. (China's National Cultural Heritage Administration via Xinhua)
The recent transfer of cultural artifacts, including several Tibetan Buddhist relics, from the US to China may help advance the Chinese government’s efforts to distort Tibet’s history and appropriate its religion and culture, Tibetan scholars and other critics of the transfer say.
On March 3, the Manhattan district attorney’s anti-trafficking unit handed over to officials from China 41 “illegally exported” cultural artifacts, including a bronze money tree, pottery, jade pieces, Buddha statues, and Tibetan Buddhist cultural relics, Chinese state-run media reports said.
The transfer was conducted as part of an agreement between the two countries to protect cultural heritage and identity and prevent Chinese cultural relics from illegally entering the US. Since the pact was first agreed to on January 14, 2009, the US has sent 594 pieces or sets of cultural relics and artworks to China.
