[Beijing Diary] 200 Million Views... "Wukuiyuanju"

"Uguiyuanju (物歸原主·The object returns to its original owner)."

On the 27th, the Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times posted on the social networking service (SNS) Weibo a message saying, "The British Museum should return Chinese cultural relics." Global Times stated, "We officially demand that the British Museum return all Chinese cultural artifacts acquired illegally to China," and added, "At the same time, we support the claims for the return of cultural relics from other countries looted by Britain, such as India, Nigeria, and Greece."

This post received over 930,000 likes and more than 46,000 comments, gaining significant support. The number of views reached an astonishing 200 million. Young people in China began spreading the atmosphere by adding the hashtag (#) 'Uguiyuanju' to urge the return.

The British Museum is known to house 23,000 artifacts collected from China, ranging from the Neolithic era to modern paintings, prints, jade, bronze, and ceramics. The oldest known silk painting from China (dated 901 AD) is also held at the British Museum.

China's demand for the repatriation of cultural relics from Britain is not new, but the hashtag movement that has recently spread like wildfire was triggered by a theft incident in the UK. According to the British Telegraph, a British Museum employee is suspected of stealing or damaging more than 1,500 museum artifacts over several years. The museum only realized this belatedly, and some items were even sold cheaply on the online auction site eBay.

China has long been angered by Britain's brainwashing of developing countries into believing that keeping artifacts at the British Museum is the safest option. Global Times pointed out on Weibo, "The British Museum is a microcosm of British colonial expansion," and criticized, "Britain's hesitation to return artifacts stems from a sense of 'moral superiority'." It further stated, "Britain, with its bloody, ugly, and shameful colonial history, considers itself morally superior and interferes in other countries' affairs," and demanded, "Before Britain points fingers at other countries, it should first settle its historical debts."

Looking into the situation, it recalled that the British Museum was also attacked by Chinese people earlier this year. The museum promoted a traditional performance supported by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on its SNS account, but the phrase "Korea's Lunar New Year" caused controversy. The state-run media Guancha.cn criticized, "This fully shows how ignorant the British Museum is and how shameless the South Korean government is." Some media outlets attacked, saying, "The independent history claimed by Korea does not exist, and the thousands of years of history Korea proudly boasts of only existed as a vassal state of China." In light of the outcry of 'Uguiyuanju' spreading in China, it is hoped that people will reflect on the meaning and value of claiming to be the 'original owner' themselves.