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Agencies

Nearly two centuries ago, the 17-year-old son of a vineyard owner left this tranquil riverside city on the edge of the Prussian empire to make his way in the world - and maybe shake it up a bit.
On Saturday, after inspiring untold numbers of revolutions, repressive regimes and ponderous graduate school seminars, Karl Marx came home, in bronze.
The sculpture, which towers over five metres high including the plinth, is a gift from China to mark the 200th birthday of the founder of Communism.
The city is split over whether a democratic nation such as Germany should be erecting monuments that are paid for, designed and built by an authoritarian one such as China.
The divide spilled into the streets Saturday with duelling demonstrations for and against the monolith, forming a noisy backdrop to the statue’s official dedication.
On one side, hundreds of flag-waving members of Germany’s fringe Communist Party cheered.

On the other - separated by barricades and riot police - an eclectic group of Free Tibet, anti-Fascist and pro-human rights protesters chanted and blew whistles in a vain effort to drown out the speeches.
City officials say they see nothing wrong with the statue’s unusual path to Trier’s downtown.
But others in Germany - a nation divided for nearly a half-century due in no small part to its native son’s theories - say city officials are being naive about a project that neatly aligns with Chinese state propaganda.
“There’s no doubt that there’s a political agenda behind it,” said Christian Soffel, a Chinese studies professor at Trier University.
How important Marx is to that agenda was underlined by the visit of two senior Chinese officials who spoke at Saturday’s ceremony.

The officials - the country’s ambassador to Germany and the deputy chief of the Information Ministry, the government’s propaganda arm - each paid tribute to Marx, though not in terribly Marxian terms.
The ambassador, Shi Mingde, said China had “modernised” Marx’s theories - a veiled reference to the country’s hearty embrace of much of modern capitalism - and boasted that China is responsible for 30 per cent of global economic growth.
“For that,” he said, “we can thank Karl Marx”.
Is Karl Marx still relevant today?
At the unveiling’s critical moment, Chinese and German officials together pulled back a red drape to reveal a rendering of Marx in full stride - a book clutched beneath his left arm, his right gently pressed to his signature frock coat.
China had already held its own lavish event to honour the bicentennial.
On Friday, President Xi Jinping heralded Marx as “the greatest thinker of modern times” at a ceremony to mark his birthday at the Great Hall of the People.

Xi, who recently pushed through constitutional changes that could allow him to stay in office indefinitely, has urged all Communist Party members to read Marx and adopt his theories as “a way of life”.
Xi’s German counterpart, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, showed markedly less affection with his own speech about Marx on Thursday.
The philosopher was undeniably influential, Steinmeier said, and his ideas need to be discussed. But the country also cannot forget that his writings gave fuel to murderous regimes - and still do.
“We shouldn’t fear Marx, but we don’t need to build any golden statues to him either,” Steinmeier said.
Not so long ago, Germany was tearing down statues of Marx. An icon of communist East Germany, his likeness was scrubbed from many a town square after the country’s reunification under democracy and capitalism in 1990.
Modern-day Trier, with a population just north of 100,000, reflects little evidence that Marx’s ideas had much impact locally.
Icons of capitalism - McDonald’s hamburgers, luxury watches, designer clothing brands - are on sale in the grand central square.
Marx’s boyhood home, meanwhile, has become a “euro store,” where everything from Chinese-made flip-flops to sunglasses can be bought with loose change.
But the gigantic statue gifted by Beijing has sparked accusations of a city seeking to capitalise on Chinese tourists or investments.
Rejecting the claims, Trier mayor Wolfram Leibe said it is simply “a gesture of friendship” from China.
“There isn’t a single Chinese company in Trier. We have no economic relations with China and that means we made this decision autonomously. We are not susceptible to blackmail,” he said.
Leibe acknowledged that the statue could become a vandalism target, but said: “that isn’t going to give me sleepless nights. It can simply be cleaned up.”
The Washington Post, Agence France-Presse


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Germany

Karl Marx’s German birthplace unveils Chinese-made statue for 200th birthday … but not everyone is pleased

Bronze sculpture, which towers over five metres high including the plinth, was a gift from China to mark birthday of the founder of Communism

***PAY PER USE. Please re-download from vendor website.*** FF9GXK Karl Marx, the German born socialist philosopher, economist and writer. Photo c.1875

Chinese artist Wu Weishan poses next to his 4.4 metres (14 feet) high bronze statue of Karl Marx, donated by China, to mark the 200th birth anniversary of the German philosopher in his hometown Trier, Germany May 5, 2018. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Visitors look on as a statue of German revolutionary thinker Karl Marx is unveiled. Photo: AFP

Is Karl Marx still relevant today?

Karl Marx, who published his Communist Manifesto as the founder of the law of social development more than 150 years ago. Photo: Handout picture

Francis Fukuyama, Professor of Public Policy at the George Mason University, poses for the photographer 21 October 2002 in Paris. Fukuyama's book "The End of History and the Last Man" was published in 1992 and has appeared in over twenty foreign editions. Fukuyama has written widely on issues relating to questions concerning democratization and international political economy. He was born in 1952 in Chigago. AFP PHOTO ERIC FEFERBERG

Portraitafter Holbein of Sir Thomas More (1477- 1535), humanist and stateman who was put to death for refusing to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. He is recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Friend of Dutch Humanist Eramus, in 1516 More published his great speculative political book, Utopia. CREDIT UNKNOWN

Stick to Karl Marx’s true path, Xi Jinping tells China’s communists in speech to mark 200th birthday of ‘greatest thinker of modern times’

Xi Jinping marked the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth with a speech in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: AFP

China's President Xi Jinping (C) gives a speech during a ceremony to mark German philosopher Karl Marx's 200th birth anniversary at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 4, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO

Chinese passers-by ride their bicycles under giant portraits of philosophers and theorists of socialism Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which were set up in Beijing at Tiananmen Square on Apri 29, 1986 two days ahead of Labor Day celebrations. / AFP PHOTO

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Bronze sculpture, which towers over five metres high including the plinth, was a gift from China to mark birthday of the founder of Communism


Germany marks the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, but the event is marred by protests against the revolutionary philosopher who remains a divisive figure almost three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
