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  Newsmakers   Taiwan to remove statues donated by Jackie Chan

Taiwan to remove statues donated by Jackie Chan

AFP
Published : Sep 23, 2016, 2:40 am IST
Updated : Sep 23, 2016, 2:40 am IST

Taiwan’s leading museum said on Thursday it will remove statues donated by actor Jackie Chan that were attacked by anti-China protesters late last year as relations sour between the island and Beijing

Jackie Chan
 Jackie Chan

Taiwan’s leading museum said on Thursday it will remove statues donated by actor Jackie Chan that were attacked by anti-China protesters late last year as relations sour between the island and Beijing.

The set of 12 zodiac animal sculptures sit in the garden of the National Palace Museum’s southern branch and are copies of high-profile ancient relics from China’s Qing Dynasty. They are seen on the mainland as emblematic of China’s past suffering under foreign invaders. The originals of the statues were looted from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace in 1860 by Anglo-French troops. Hong Kong actor Chan is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Confer-ence — China’s mainland’s political advisory body — and has drawn criticism in the past for his pro-Beijing remarks.

Two of the bronze statues were defaced with red paint and daubed with anti-China slogans last December days after the museum branch opened in Chiayi county.

Location: Taiwan, Taipei