Taiwan town wants Mao statue

A Taiwanese town which is home to nearly 200 statues of late Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek plans to acquire one of his communist Chinese arch rival Mao Zedong, a report said yesterday.
Dashi township in northern Taiwan hopes to place Mao’s statue in a memorial park which displays the statue of Chiang and his son Chiang Ching-kuo, said the Taipei-based China Times.
Adding a Mao statue will promote reconciliation between Taiwan and China while boosting local tourism, the paper quoted township chief Huang Ruei-sung as saying.
Dashi, the final resting place for the Chiangs, is a popular destination for Chinese tourists with more than 20 buses arriving daily, Huang said.
Township officials were not immediately available for comment.
The battle between Mao and Chiang Kai-shek for control over China cost the lives of millions and ended in 1949 when Mao’s communist forces seized power, banishing Chiang and his troops to Taiwan, where he set up a rival government.
Last year Mao’s granddaughter Kong Dongmei met with Chiang Kai-shek’s grandson during a visit to Taipei in a rare encounter illustrating an improvement in relations between the two sides.