Seized relics returned to China
- Source: Xinhua
- [11:04 September 16 2009]
- Comments
By Zhang Wen
The US government Tuesday returned to China some prehistoric fossils that had entered the US illegally, Xinhua reported Monday.
At a ceremony at the Chinese embassy, officials with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) returned the fossils seized during routine inspections of goods coming into the country.
The fossils included bones of a saber-toothed cat and eggs of several dinosaurs. Experts at Chicago's Field Museum told the AP that the dinosaur fossils confiscated date from 100 million years ago.
The fossils were from Psittacosaurus lujiatunesis, a two-legged dinosaur less than two meters long with a distinctive skull that had a prominent parrot-like beak and high nostrils.
During the ceremony, deputy chief of mission Xie Feng of the Chinese embassy expressed gratitude to the US government for its efforts.
"In recent years, China and the US have developed close cooperation in law enforcement and made steady progress and prominent achievements, particularly in the fields of counter-terrorism, drug enforcement and combating other transnational crimes," Xinhua quoted Xie as saying.
"Such law-enforcement cooperation will benefit the safety of our countries and the protection of our people's lives and property," he said, adding that the fossils would be well placed and preserved in the Geological Museum of China for scientific research.
John Morton, an assistant secretary of Homeland Security, told the AP that "the attempt to remove them from China ran up against a network of national and international customs laws that are in place to protect against the theft of cultural property. We are pleased to return them to their rightful owners: the people of China."
"Fossil smuggling and any related illegal action seriously jeopardizes scientific research," Zhou Zhonghe, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times.
"This time, the fossils returning to China is a result of the two countries' cooperation on fighting against transnational crimes," Zhou said. "The return of those undocumented relics is also definitely significant to scientific research in China."
The fossilized dinosaur eggs entered the US through Washington Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC, and were shipped to Richmond, Virginia.
Agencies contributed to this story
