Unexplained destruction of statue in Henan raises suspicion

A regional branch of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation in Henan province was back in the limelight last week as a demolition of a giant statue it built two years ago triggered a media outcry over a perceived waste of public donations.

China National Radio reported earlier in the week that a 27- metre-tall sculpture, built for 120 million yuan (HK$150.4 million) in 2011, was found to have been demolished late last month, and the public was still puzzled by its destruction.

The giant sculpture, Daughter of the Yellow River, next to the office of the Henan Soong Ching Ling Foundation in Zhengzhou, was often referred as the Soong Ching Ling statue as it resembled the late wife of Sun Yat-sen, who was honorary president of the People's Republic of China before her death in 1981.

The statue, which had become a landmark in the provincial capital, is part of a youth centre the foundation planned to build on 14.8 hectares it acquired in 2005 with a budget of 800 million yuan.

However, there has been no explanation from the foundation about its decision to demolish the statue nor whether it was built with public donations.

In a commentary on Wednesday, the Youth Times newspaper said that the Henan Soong Ching Ling Foundation was no doubt a rich charitable organisation with money at its disposal, but the 120 million yuan spent on a statue was not a small sum, particularly since it was donated by the public for charitable causes.

"It remains a mystery why the foundation wanted to demolish the statue," the paper said. "But what we can't run away with a question of who is going to foot the bill?" it asked.