A handsome young Chinese man is walking along the Embankment in London when a beautiful young Chinese woman knocks into him. Suddenly, as romantic music plays, she throws her arms around him: "Family!" she exclaims. "I've been wandering outside for a long time. I'm lost - I don't know how to find my way home..."

This is a video on China's version of TikTok, entitled Escape from the British Museum. The twist is that the young woman is a jade teapot which has come alive in human form and is desperate to get back to China, where she belongs.

The video has been watched over 270 million times. It is slick and funny, but is part of an intense argument about museum exhibits - although the real teapot is only 12 years old and was acquired in a perfectly legal way.

The British MuseumA public museum in London, England, which focuses on human history, art and culture. It has the largest collection of items in the world. owns around 23,000 Chinese objects - the biggest collection in the West. On Sunday a state-run Chinese newspaper, Global Times, called for them all to be returned free of charge.

The museum has long argued that it takes better care of such artefacts than the countries they came from could. But the admission that some 2,000 exhibits were discovered last month to be "missing, stolen or damaged" has undermined that argument.

The Greek minister of culture, Lina Mendoni, declared that the revelation "reinforces the permanent and just demand of our country" for the return of the Elgin marblesA collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other places in Athens. They were brought to Britain in the early 19th Century, and are named after the Earl of Elgin, who removed the sculptures from their original place. .

Nigeria, meanwhile, has called for the museum to hand over the Benin bronzesA group of metal plaques and sculptures which decorated the palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in modern day Nigeria. , since the kingdom of Benin is now part of its territory.  

Few people would dispute that art works stolen by the Nazis or skeletons taken from Native American graves should be returned. But the history and ownership of many artefacts is less clear-cut.

The V&A recently received a request from the Ethiopian government for the return of some valuable jewels. It was then contacted by members of the AbyssinianThe Kingdom of Abyssinia began in the 13th Century and transformed into the Ethiopian Empire. royal family, who claimed that the jewels actually belonged to them... and by representatives of the Coptic ChurchA church founded in the first century in Egypt. , who said that the Abyssinian royal family had stolen the jewels from them.

In the dispute over the Benin bronzes, Britain has been accused of cruelly looting wonderful religious artefacts. But some argue that the fact that they were taken in retaliation for the massacre of a peaceful trade delegation, and that the religion in question included human sacrifice, tends to be overlooked.

Some bronzes have already been returned from other countries - but this has caused a furious argument in Nigeria as to whether they belong to the government, the national museums or the king of Benin. Critics say that it would be wrong to return museum exhibits if no one can be sure that they will be publicly displayed.

They also point out that the Elgin marbles might well have been destroyed if they had not been removed from the ParthenonAn ancient Greek temple in Athens that was once dedicated to the goddess Athena. It was built around 440 BC. It is regarded as the highest example of ancient Greek architecture., which the occupying Turkish forces had chosen as an ammunition dump.

Yes: Artefacts that are the product of a particular culture naturally belong in their place of origin. Museums which have benefited from looting have no right to hold on to them in a more enlightened age.

No: Humans have always been fascinated by other cultures, and history is full of complex interchanges. If museums only showed artefacts from their own countries they would be poorer by far.

Or... Museums like the British Museum only display a fraction of what they own. They should reduce their collections to what they can actually show and return the rest to countries that have a convincing claim to them.

British Museum - A public museum in London, England, which focuses on human history, art and culture. It has the largest collection of items in the world.

Elgin marbles - A collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other places in Athens. They were brought to Britain in the early 19th Century, and are named after the Earl of Elgin, who removed the sculptures from their original place.

Benin bronzes - A group of metal plaques and sculptures which decorated the palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in modern day Nigeria.

V&A - The Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Abyssinian - The Kingdom of Abyssinia began in the 13th Century and transformed into the Ethiopian Empire.

Coptic Church - A church founded in the first century in Egypt.

Parthenon - An ancient Greek temple in Athens that was once dedicated to the goddess Athena. It was built around 440 BC. It is regarded as the highest example of ancient Greek architecture.