Gone with the wind: statue hailing former premier of mainland China as a Taiwanese hero is taken down following outcry

The mainland’s former premier Wen Jiabao was hailed a Taiwanese hero – albeit briefly – yesterday when a local advertising company executive unveiled his statue at an entombment park in the island’s northern port city of ­Keelung.

Visitors to the park were taken aback when they saw that a bronze statue of Wen stood in the park with his right hand holding a pair of shoes, Taiwanese media reported.

“Wen opened tourism and exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait during his tenure, creating many job opportunities for Taiwanese people,” Lin Kun-ming, the executive, was quoted as saying by SET cable television.

“We made him a hero because he loved Taiwan,” he said. The Taiwanese public should be grateful to him for his contributions to the island, he added.

The park’s president Chen Chen-feng told Taiwan’s Central News Agency the island was a free society and the public should view the statue with an open mind.