Chinese communists disciplined for letting statue of Chairman Mao topple over in strong winds
- Cadres in Hebei village ordered to undergo self-criticism after photo of statue lying face down in the shrubbery was widely circulated online
- Reinforced plastic structure had been leaning against the wall awaiting repair when it was blown into the bushes
A couple of grass-roots Communist Party members from northern China have been disciplined after a statue of Mao Zedong was photographed lying face down surrounded by overgrown bushes.
The government of Fuping county in Hebei province issued a statement late on Tuesday that the party chief of Huashan village, where the statue used to stand, had been given a “serious warning” for failing to protect the statue.
His immediate superior, the party head of Chengnanzhuang township, also received a warning.
The disciplinary action came after a picture of the statue lying amid the shrubbery was widely circulated online, triggering an angry response from Mao’s admirers.
The village has become a revolutionary tourist destination because the founding father of the People’s Republic spent some time there in 1948.
The local government said on Sunday that the statue, showing Chairman Mao with a clenched right fist, had been erected in 2017.