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Chinese citizens outraged over US$2.5 bil. projects to mark Mao's birth
BEIJING--More than US$2.5 billion is being poured into the hometown of Communist China's founding father Mao Zedong for projects marking the 120th anniversary of his birth, local media reported, prompting outrage Thursday.
Mao, who led the Communist Party to victory in China's civil war, was born in Shaoshan, in the central province of Hunan, on Dec. 26, 1893.
Xiangtan city, which includes Shaoshan, is spending 15.5 billion yuan (US$2.54 billion) on 16 schemes linked to the occasion, the Changsha Evening News said, including renovating a tourist center and preserving Mao's former residence.
The works also include broader infrastructure projects, such as high-speed rail stations and highways, to impress the expected influx of visitors.
Local authorities in Xiangtan have hailed the commemoration by saying its "importance overrides any other at the moment," the Global Times, which is close to the ruling party, reported earlier this week.
But Chinese Internet users reacted to the 15.5 billion yuan sum — which far exceeds a 1.95 billion figure reported earlier — with indignation on the country's popular micro-blogging platforms.
"How much money does it cost to deal with pollution?" wrote one poster on Sina Weibo. "How much does it cost to provide medical insurance? How much to offer students from poor districts free lunch?
"I can't believe they're spending this much money on a dead man, a controversial dead man."
Another said: "Xiangtan's economy is not doing well and a lot of people have been laid off by state-owned enterprises. And they spent so lavishly! I am so 'proud' of them. Who are those Xiangtan officials really serving?"
The comments underscore the thorny issue of such lavish outlays at a time when many ordinary Chinese are lashing out at officials over corruption, and the government itself has launched an austerity campaign, banning banquets and other over-indulgences.
In addition to its spending on infrastructure and other projects, Xiangtan plans to mark the anniversary with a host of events including a "large-scale" cultural performance, a national cycling competition and a photography exhibition, local authorities have said previously.
City residents traditionally celebrate the date by eating "longevity noodles" and singing "The East is Red," the Cultural Revolution-era anthem glorifying Mao.
The late leader's legacy is principally associated in the West with horrors such as China's Great Leap Forward, when tens of millions died through famine, and the Cultural Revolution.
But within China, his supporters focus on Mao's earlier revolutionary years, his role in the 1949 founding of the People's Republic and his nationalistic stance. The country's current leader Xi Jinping has sought to capitalize on the sentiment by invoking Maoist doctrine in some of his rhetoric.
Chinese citizens outraged over US$2.5 bil. projects to mark Mao's birth - The China Post
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Our loved Ms Renuka Choudri was outraged that people show disrespect to the PM, but look at this total impudent, insolent dishonour being shown to the memory of The Great Helmsman who craft China to the pristine position that he has; and that too in a country that is not a democracy and instead is a dictatorship of a One Party rule!
The outrage is unbelievable and one wonders why it is not clipped in the wings, when other such outrages immediately invites Govt crackdown
Maybe China now realises that Deng was wrong when he said that 'Mao was 30% wrong and 70% right', which they parroted loyally in those days.
Maybe today's mantra is "Mao is 100% wrong" and the CCP does not want to nip such blasphemy in the bud since, maybe, it suits their purpose!
BEIJING--More than US$2.5 billion is being poured into the hometown of Communist China's founding father Mao Zedong for projects marking the 120th anniversary of his birth, local media reported, prompting outrage Thursday.
Mao, who led the Communist Party to victory in China's civil war, was born in Shaoshan, in the central province of Hunan, on Dec. 26, 1893.
Xiangtan city, which includes Shaoshan, is spending 15.5 billion yuan (US$2.54 billion) on 16 schemes linked to the occasion, the Changsha Evening News said, including renovating a tourist center and preserving Mao's former residence.
The works also include broader infrastructure projects, such as high-speed rail stations and highways, to impress the expected influx of visitors.
Local authorities in Xiangtan have hailed the commemoration by saying its "importance overrides any other at the moment," the Global Times, which is close to the ruling party, reported earlier this week.
But Chinese Internet users reacted to the 15.5 billion yuan sum — which far exceeds a 1.95 billion figure reported earlier — with indignation on the country's popular micro-blogging platforms.
"How much money does it cost to deal with pollution?" wrote one poster on Sina Weibo. "How much does it cost to provide medical insurance? How much to offer students from poor districts free lunch?
"I can't believe they're spending this much money on a dead man, a controversial dead man."
Another said: "Xiangtan's economy is not doing well and a lot of people have been laid off by state-owned enterprises. And they spent so lavishly! I am so 'proud' of them. Who are those Xiangtan officials really serving?"
The comments underscore the thorny issue of such lavish outlays at a time when many ordinary Chinese are lashing out at officials over corruption, and the government itself has launched an austerity campaign, banning banquets and other over-indulgences.
In addition to its spending on infrastructure and other projects, Xiangtan plans to mark the anniversary with a host of events including a "large-scale" cultural performance, a national cycling competition and a photography exhibition, local authorities have said previously.
City residents traditionally celebrate the date by eating "longevity noodles" and singing "The East is Red," the Cultural Revolution-era anthem glorifying Mao.
The late leader's legacy is principally associated in the West with horrors such as China's Great Leap Forward, when tens of millions died through famine, and the Cultural Revolution.
But within China, his supporters focus on Mao's earlier revolutionary years, his role in the 1949 founding of the People's Republic and his nationalistic stance. The country's current leader Xi Jinping has sought to capitalize on the sentiment by invoking Maoist doctrine in some of his rhetoric.
Chinese citizens outraged over US$2.5 bil. projects to mark Mao's birth - The China Post
*************************************************************************
Our loved Ms Renuka Choudri was outraged that people show disrespect to the PM, but look at this total impudent, insolent dishonour being shown to the memory of The Great Helmsman who craft China to the pristine position that he has; and that too in a country that is not a democracy and instead is a dictatorship of a One Party rule!
The outrage is unbelievable and one wonders why it is not clipped in the wings, when other such outrages immediately invites Govt crackdown
Maybe China now realises that Deng was wrong when he said that 'Mao was 30% wrong and 70% right', which they parroted loyally in those days.
Maybe today's mantra is "Mao is 100% wrong" and the CCP does not want to nip such blasphemy in the bud since, maybe, it suits their purpose!
