Legal brilliance to bring Buddha statue back

Twenty-eight years after it was stolen and sold overseas, the Zhang Gong Patriarch, a thousand-year-old Buddha statue, is set to be returned to its rightful owners in China. Made from the mummified remains of Zhang Qisan, a monk from the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the Buddha statue had been worshiped in Yangchun village, Sanming city of Fujian province, for almost 1,000 years. However, it was stolen in 1995, and surfaced sometime in 2015 at a museum in Hungary.

Its holder, Dutch collector Oscar Van Overeem, claimed he had bought it in Amsterdam in 1996, but could not provide any evidence of the trade. On Tuesday, the Fujian Provincial High People's Court ruled that Oscar Van Overeem must return the statue to its rightful owners, the residents of Yangchun village.

The significance of the verdict can never be overemphasized. It is the first time that a Chinese court has ruled in a matter related to the ownership of Chinese relics lost overseas.

The Fujian Provincial High People's Court has shown to the world that China's judicial agencies have both the power and the ability to rule over such cases.

Besides, some Westerners might not realize it, but the Buddha statue here is not an ordinary one made from clay. This one was made from the remains of a famous monk and was being worshiped in a local temple for almost 1,000 years. It thus shares a special bond with the village residents, a factor that the Fujian court took into consideration while delivering its verdict.

Reports say that at least 17 million cultural relics from China are lying overseas after being stolen or robbed. Wherever they may be, they will all be brought back through legal means, a process in which both domestic and overseas courts have roles to play.