【Related News】Taiwan museum: Fakes found of Buddhist scripture

Anti-corruption investigators launched a search Monday of the National Palace Museum (NPM) and home of a NPM assistant researcher who allegedly stole the original digital files of two valuable manuscripts to make copies for sale.

The search covered the office of the researcher, Chen Yiao-tung, at the NPM department in charge of the marketing of cultural and creative products, Chen's home and private workshop, according to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

Acting on tip-offs, the ACA's undercover investigations revealed that Chen and his assistant Yeh Li-chen were using the digital files of the "Tibetan Dragon Sutra" and the "Vast Documents of the Yongle Era" to publish copies without the NPM's authorization.

The practices violated the Anti-Corruption Statute and the Copyright Law, the ACA said.

In a statement released Monday, the NPM confirmed the illegal act, which it described as an incident caused by a single individual ethical lapse.

Chen, who is responsible for the safety of the digital archives of national treasures, was found colluding with Chinese publishers to make underground copies of the two significant cultural and historic relics.

According to the NPM, the "Tibetan Dragon Sutra," a Buddhist canon series written in Tibetan, is also known as the "Tripitaka in Tibetan/Manchu." It was finished in 1639 during the reign of Kang Xi (1661-1722) of the Qing Dynasty. Over 100,000 pages were hand copied in gold ink and kept in jewel-encrusted wooden boxes.

The valuable sutra is at present touted as the world's only tripitaka written in Tibetan. Three years ago, the NPM allocated over NT$100 million (US$3.3 million) to having the series reprinted and published. Sales of the authorized copies began in February at a price of NT$1.88 million per set.

ACA agents found that Chen was marketing his copies at the price of NT$100,000 per set.

The "Vast Documents of the Yongle Era," also known as the "Yongle Encyclopedia," is a Chinese compilation of information commissioned by the Ming Dynasty emperor Yongle in 1403 and completed in 1408. It was the world's largest known general encyclopedia at the time.