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From hero to zero, why Cai?

By Chen Weihua (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-21 08:05

Till three weeks ago, he was called a patriot, considered a national hero. Today, he is derided as an irrational and untrustworthy man, who embarrassed the Chinese the world over.

Cai Mingchao's rollercoaster fate over the last few weeks is as dramatic as it is confusing.

Why did public opinion of a man change so drastically in a matter of days? Can we not tell right from wrong, and felony from misdemeanor?

Cai was the man who won the bids for the two Chinese fountainheads, auctioned by Christie's in Paris on Feb 25. He later refused to pay for the bronzes, stolen from Beijing's Old Summer Palace during the Second Opium War in 1860.

In a subsequent interview with the media, Cai said he had never intended to pay for the objects, and only bid for them because he didn't want the relics to go to anyone else. He said he was only being patriotic, and that any Chinese, not just him, would do the same.

In another interview recently, he did a turnaround and said it was a "pity" to do what he did at the auction. However, he added that he would have regretted even more had he sat quietly and let the relics go without a fight.

After the auction, which didn't materialize, thanks to Cai's fake bids, the 44-year-old has had to quit the auction business, to which he had devoted a lot of passion and money over the years.

He might also have to face severe economic and legal consequences, in addition to the undeserved harsh criticism and speculation.

It is true what Cai did was against the rules of his profession, for which he has paid a high price.

But that should not distract us from the fact that keeping and selling looted objects is seriously immoral, although it might not have been rendered illegal under current international laws.

It's like setting murderers and robbers free while sentencing the victim for excessive self-defense.

Those who thought Cai did what he did for self-publicity should think again, for, his personal loss has been devastating. Even the public support he'd won over the past few days has suddenly vanished into thin air.

Let's be clear on what is often confused in China. Cai's action - be it heroic or irrational - was a personal choice. It does not represent every Chinese or China as a nation.

For the same reason, what Pierre Berge - who the fountainheads eventually went to after Cai backed out - and Christie's did was also a personal and corporate choice.

It has nothing to do with the French or France as a nation, especially since we know some French lawyers had teamed up with Chinese lawyers to try and stop the auction and help China get the relics back.

Critics should be ashamed of accusing Cai of bringing a bad name to the Chinese and tarnishing the image or credibility of the Chinese. It is crystal clear that it is Christie's and Pierre Berge who should really be condemned as disgraceful, not Cai.

Many of Cai's critics have appeared as rational scholars. But without being able to differentiate between Cai's action and that of Christie's, it is hard to find any solid rationale from these so-called scholars.

Holding and expressing different views is a good and healthy sign for the Chinese society, but being able to tell right from wrong is more important.

The wheels of justice should turn for Cai. And the public should not let some self-proclaimed rational scholars confuse the situation.

I am going to the beautiful seaside city of Xiamen, where Cai lives, in another two weeks. If possible, I would like to drop by his home or office to tell him that he still has at least one supporter, in me.

chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/21/2009 page4)