Forbidden City Theft

Here's another news story that's been waiting for Blogger to stop messing about. I thought it ironic that a thief managed to steal 9 treasures from the heavily guarded Forbidden City in Beijing while the authorities are worrying about a Chinese Spring similar to the Arab Spring. The stolen items were all 20th Century Western-style gold purses and mirrored compacts covered with jewels, on loan from the Liang Yi Museum in Hong Kong, example this Cosmetic Case (c.1930-1940) The thief dropped two while escaping and slightly damaged them. Police collared him in an Internet café and recovered most of the stolen items. He sounds like an opportunistic amateur. This is the first time in 20 years that anything has been stolen from the Forbidden City, the traditional home of Chinese emperors. A spokesperson said security will be increased (title link).