Villagers sue government to return ebony  

四川天价乌木发现者起诉政府要求返还

引起全国法学界、舆论界争议近半年的四川彭州天价乌木事件26日正式进入司法程序。乌木发现者吴高亮及其姐姐吴高惠共同向成都中级人民法院提交了对通济镇人民政府的行政附带民事起诉状，要求通济镇政府返还乌木。

Chengdu (CNS) -- Wu Gaoliang and Wu Gaohui, two common villagers, jointly filed a lawsuit against government of Tongji Town at the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court on July 26, requiring them to return rare ebony taken from their contracted land.

Ebony is a dense, dark-colored and increasingly rare type of wood growing underground. Wu Gaoliang and his sister Wu Gaohui found ebony valued at 12 million yuan on their land this February. Later, the local town government stopped Wu from digging it up and transported away the unearthed part.

The town government awarded Wu Gaolaing 70,000 yuan on July 3.

The key question to this case is whether the county has ownership of the ebony. According to an online survey, 76.4 percent of interviewees agreed that ebony is not a cultural relic and belongs to the person who found it; 14.4 percent agreed it is hard to judge as there is no related regulation; and only 9.1 percent thought ownership belonged to the county.