The Bigger They Come, The Harder They FallPosted by Philo
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.
Chinas 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, Maos birthplace, donated the statue to Gongga as part of aid for Tibet, the newspaper said. The statue will be a landmark in the countys Changsha Square, which will be completed in July.
The Reuters article goes on to gloss over the murderous effects of Maos Cultural Revolution, particularly in Tibet, so I wont 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 Maos 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 dont believe forty feet of Mao will accomplish any of these things. At most Maos statue will provide a vivid image for CNN and the BBC when it is toppled to its demise in a free Tibet.
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?
I'm not sure, but as I sat here contemplating the visage of Comrade Mao I suddenly had this urgent need to take a dump. Constipation may be a thing of the past in Tibet.