From: Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com
To: dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Australia Returns Fossils to China
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 13:05:35 -0500
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050930/ap_on_sc/dinosaur_fossils
(I dunno about that 'small dinosaur fossil' in the accompanying figure...)
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Australia Returns Fossils to China
PERTH, Australia - Australia on Friday handed over to the Chinese
government 10,000 fossils that had been illegally exported from China,
including dinosaur eggs, ancient turtles and a saber-toothed cat, an
official said.
Australian officials seized the fossils after receiving an official request
from Beijing in 2003, Environment and Heritage Minister Ian Campbell said
in a statement.
A joint operation between Australian police and customs netted an
"extraordinary" range of pieces, including early elephant and rhinoceros
bones and rare fossils of fish and reptiles, Campbell said.
Some of the fossils date back 230 million years and have a total value of
up to $3.8 million.
The minister formally handed the fossils over to Chinese Ambassador Fu Ying
at a ceremony held at the Chinese consulate in the Western Australia state
capital, Perth.
"In 230 million years, a short detour to Australia and back is a mere blip
in history," Campbell told the gathering. "All in all, it is a massive
collection. It is one of the biggest fossil hauls in world history, and
certainly the biggest in Chinese and Australian history."
Campbell said he hoped Australia's cooperation with China would signal "yet
another strengthening of the relationship" between the two countries.
Justice Minister Chris Ellison said Australia was one of the first
countries to help China stop the flow of illegally exported fossils.
Ellison said some of the fossils had been bought by Australians unaware
that such items can be legally removed from China only with a permit from
the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources.
"The Australian government has great respect for the significance of these
items as part of China's scientific and cultural history, and is committed
to ensuring the world's important heritage is protected into the future,"
Ellison said