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A military policeman stands guard by a portrait of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square. Photo: AFP

Chinese official fired after calling Mao Zedong ‘a devil’

Official at media censor in Hebei province latest to be sacked in China for criticising the former Chinese leader

An official in northern China has been fired after he called the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong, a devil on social media and called the annual commemoration of the former leader’s birthday “the world’s largest cult activity”.

Mao, who died on September 9, 1976, is still officially venerated by the ruling Communist Party as the founder of modern China and his face appears on every yuan banknote.

He is particularly respected by leftists who believe the country has become too capitalist and unequal over three decades of market-based reforms and attitudes towards Mao and his legacy mirrors differences between reformers and traditionalists.

The Shijiazhuang Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film, TV, Press and Publication said in a statement late on Monday that its deputy director Zuo Chunhe had been sacked for “posting wrong remarks” on China’s Twitter-like Weibo service and for a “serious violation of political discipline”.

Zuo also needs to deeply reflect on his mistakes, the statement said.

While Zuo’s post was deleted images of it continue to circulate online.
Zuo Chunhe, the deputy director of the Shijiazhuang Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film, TV, Press and Publication. Photo: Handout

Zuo could not be reached for comment.

The Global Times, published by the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said his Weibo account had been deleted.

A Chinese professor was sacked earlier this month after enraging leftists with a commentary posted online in December that criticised Mao on the 123rd anniversary of his birth.

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