China's Golden Mega Mao is no more

36-metre high statue finished in December Cost 420,000 euros Officials say approval had not been sought The news – Mega Mao is no more A giant statue of Chairman Mao has been torn down in China. The 36-metre high monolith in Henan province had prompted an outpouring of criticism and ridicule. Devastating news: giant golden Chairman Mao statue torn down in Henan province, locals say https://t.co/Y8T370KSeM pic.twitter.com/SDnkvQmAYN— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) January 8, 2016 Village spends £310,000 building a giant golden statue of Chairman Mao https://t.co/CbB9kju6ub pic.twitter.com/s0JEYqiYwZ— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) January 5, 2016 Remote Chinese village in Tongxu county builds giant golden statue of Mao Zedong pic.twitter.com/HDbuyFmG15— sobore (@sobore) January 8, 2016 (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));Now you see it…Posted by euronews on Saturday, 9 January 2016 Mao you see it, Mao you don’t: towering 3m yuan golden statue ‘demolished’ after internet coverage https://t.co/0dbKgOO4K7 via SCMP_News— Steven Gallagher (stevecuria) January 9, 2016 Giant golden Chairman Mao statue destroyed in Henan province https://t.co/pPGsRxsagz— Don Geno (@GonzoReiter) January 8, 2016 The 420,000 euro statue, which was financed by a group of local businessmen, was finished in December after nine months of work. It is not clear why it has been torn down. Officials have been quoted as saying the official approval process had not been followed. “Mao Worship” is said to be on the rise in rural China. Some say this is causing unease in Beijing. Who was Mao Tse-tung? Pueblo chino celebra 122 años del natalicio de su máximo líder, Mao Tse Tung. https://t.co/bKzTxqjdLY pic.twitter.com/AQwPI7ESzL— Edwal Quilarque (@EQuilarqueS_cas) December 26, 2015 The founder of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 Launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966 Venerated by many Chinese Critics say millions died as a result of his hard-line policies Died in 1976