- Politics of the Chinese Fossil Trade
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- The Unofficial officials
Digging and exporting fossils by individuals is now illegal
in China. Hundreds of dinosaur eggs were seized by the Chinese
customs officials in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Changsha.
Many more were not, and were stored in warehouses for distribution
from Hong Kong and other Asian cities. Today these supplies appear
to have dwindled and fewer and fewer dinosaur eggs are seen coming
out of Asia.
Only some authorized institutes are officially allowed to
send samples to foreign researchers. In addition, there is an
extensive network of Chinese dealers of dinosaur eggs and other
fossils. The Chinese say that it is illegal to deal in any type
of Chinese fossil but there was no official law regarding this
policy until 2002.
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