二 | Christie's has canceled the second auction of jewels belonging to an Austrian billionaire, whose German husband made his fortune under the Nazis, following "intense scrutiny," it said Friday. The auction house held a first controversial online and in-person sale in Geneva of part of the large stash of more than 700 jewels in May, and had been scheduled to hold a second round in November.But in a statement it said "Christie's has taken the decision not to proceed with further sales of property from the Estate of Heidi Horten."This photograph taken on May 8, 2023, shows Christie's international head of jewellery, Rahul Kadakia, speaking on his phone behind a display case of jewels during a press preview of the "World of Heidi Horten" sales in Geneva. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty With just a portion of the collection sold, the auction eclipsed previous records set by Christie's in sales of properties that belonged to actress Elizabeth Taylor in 2011 and the "Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence" collection in 2019, both of which exceeded $100 million. Hopes had been high for similar results from the second round. But following an initial report in the New York Times, Christie's sent a statement to AFP confirming that it had canceled the second round, acknowledging that "the sale of the Heidi Horten jewelry collection has provoked intense scrutiny.""The reaction to it has deeply affected us and many others, and we will continue to reflect on it," it said.
A large number of Jewish groups had asked Christie's to halt the initial Horten sale in May, describing it as "indecent" and demanding that the auction house do more to determine how much of it came from victims of the Nazis.
The extraordinary collection belonged to Horten, who died last year aged 81 with a fortune of $2.9 billion, according to Forbes.A report published in January 2022 by historians commissioned by the Horten Foundation said Horten's husband Helmut Horten, who died in Switzerland in 1987, had been a member of the Nazi party before being expelled.
"The Nazi Conspiracy": The WWII plot to kill FDR, Churchill and Stalin07:31In 1936, three years after Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, Horten took over textile company Alsberg, based in the western city of Duisburg, after its Jewish owners fled. He later took over several other shops that had belonged to Jewish owners before the war.Christie's in May defended its decision to go ahead with the sale, with Christie's international head of jewelry Rahul Kadakia telling AFP that all of the proceeds would go towards charities.
"Christie's separately is making a significant donation towards Holocaust research and education," he said at the time, stressing that the "proceeds of the sale is going to do good."
三 |
刚对东南亚三国完成国事访问的Luxon在记者会上表示，政府的目标是在未来十年内实现新西兰出口额翻番，从而很大程度上依赖于与亚太国家地区的贸易。
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当被问及亚太贸易是否包括台湾时，Luxon说：“是的，我们已经与台湾签署了经济合作协定”。
新西兰与台北没有正式的外交关系，也不承认台湾为一个独立的国家。2013年签署经济合作协定全名为《新西兰与台澎金马单独关税区的经济合作协定》。台湾方面一直希望将该经济合作协定拓展为完整的自由贸易协定。
Luxon在记者会上表示，新西兰尊重“一个中国”原则，因此他没有任何前往台湾的计划。
“我们有一个长期政策，即‘一个中国’政策。它很重要，我们将继续恪守。
