The next seminar of the 10th Year Greater China Legal History Seminar Series organised by CUHK LAW titled "The Gates of Kam Tin – An Early Case of Repatriation of Looted Cultural Property" will be delivered by Professor Steven GALLAGHER on 18 October 2024.
About the seminar: In 1898, China's Qing Emperor leased the New Territories for 99 years to the British to extend the colony of Hong Kong. In 1899, British forces attempted to set up an administrative office in Tai Po in the newly acquired New Territories. They were surprised to be met with significant armed resistance from the indigenous residents. The "Six-day War" ensued. A British armed force was sent from Hong Kong into the New Territories. The indigenous Chinese forces were forced to retreat across the peninsula pursued by the British. The retreat ended before the gates of the walled village of Kat Hing Wai, Kam Tin. After the final battle, the gates of the village were removed. The Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Henry Arthur Blake, had a pair of the gates sent to London as trophies. Eventually they were transported to Blake's estate in Ireland. In May 1925, after the villagers had asked the then Governor, Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs, to petition Blake's widow for the return of the gates, two gates were returned. This seminar considers the contemporary laws and the political and social context affecting the gates removal from Kat Hing Wai, their acquisition as trophies by the British, and their return.
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