Golden Mao Statue In China Is Destroyed After Public Outcry

A man looks at a giant statue of late chairman Mao Zedong under construction near fields in a village of Tongxu county, Henan province, China, Jan. 4, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS/STRINGER

New York Times: Golden Mao Statue in China, Nearly Finished, Is Brought Down by Criticism

ZHUSHIGANG, China — Days after photographs of a giant, golden statue of Mao spread across the Internet, drawing ridicule for its grandiosity amid the bare fields of Henan Province, the statue has been quickly torn down.

Demolition teams arrived Thursday morning, villagers said, and by Friday morning only a pile of rubble remained.

The 120-foot-tall statue, erected at a cost of $465,000, according to the local news media, had been under construction for months and was nearing completion when it began to attract attention.

WNU Editor: Everyone who is over the age of 55 in China remembers what life was like under Mao .... that is why this golden statue was torn down. I have been going to China for years. I lived there in the mid-1980s. I have gotten to know hundreds of people while I was there. When I bring up Mao .... there is zero support/sympathy/understanding for him. He may be on the Chinese money and have his portrait in Tienanmen Square .... but he is despised by the generation who lived under him. The younger generation has a different point of view .... and that is because many of them do not know what life was like under him.

More News On The Destruction Of The Golden Mao Statue In China

Giant Mao statue 'removed' from Henan village. -- BBC
'Mega Mao' no more as ridiculed golden statue destroyed -- The Guardian
Mao Zedong Statue Destroyed: Chinese Leader’s Giant, Gold-Painted Statue Lacked Government Approval -- IBTimes
Giant gold Mao statue 'demolished' in China following public outcry: report -- DW
Chinese village destroys lavish golden statue of Chairman Mao -- Mashable