The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall

Via Phayul, a Reuters article on China oh-so benevolently giving the people of Tibet a 40+ foot tall statue of Mao.

Late Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong is set to cast a huge shadow over Tibet once again with a giant stone statue of the Great Helmsman on its way to the Himalayan region, a newspaper said on Wednesday.

China’s biggest statue of Mao — rising 7.1 metres from a 5.16-metre pedestal — is due to arrive by truck in Gongga county under police escort in just over a week, the Beijing News said.

Changsha, capital of the southern province of Hunan, Mao’s birthplace, donated the statue to Gongga as part of aid for Tibet, the newspaper said. The statue will be a landmark in the county’s Changsha Square, which will be completed in July.

The Reuters article goes on to gloss over the murderous effects of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, particularly in Tibet, so I won’t give it light of day here.

Leaving aside the ridiculous idea of planting a forty-foot tall statue of Mao inside a nation that he violently invaded and occupied, how in the name of all that is sacred and holy does forty feet of solid stone Mao constitute “aid for Tibet?” What part of this undoubtedly expensive icon to a dictator will help the Tibetan people? Will the massive shadow it both physically and metaphorically casts provide shelter for homeless Tibetan children in Lhasa? Will Mao’s four pocket jacket contain bountiful medical supplies to treat tuberculosis and cataracts? Will the introduction of this stone idol bring new jobs to Tibetans or provide an institution to preserve Tibetan culture from the homogenizing forces of the Chinese Communist Party?

No, I don’t believe forty feet of Mao will accomplish any of these things. At most Mao’s statue will provide a vivid image for CNN and the BBC when it is toppled to its demise in a free Tibet.



2 Responsesto “The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall”

1. Ben says:

   March 30, 2006 at 8:24 am

   Good grief! Next they’ll be sending a statue of Hitler to Poland as “aid” for all those holocaust survivers!

   I know the Chinese government are tactless, but this takes it to a whole new level.
2. Amalia says:

   March 30, 2006 at 1:01 pm

   Darn it. I wanted that statue for christmas! I mean its so damn helpful and all.