Developer apologizes for Mao statue damage

BEIJING - A development company in southern China has apologized for damaging a statue of late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong while relocating it last month.

The developer, Yilong Urban Construction Investment Company in Wenchang, Hainan province, was organizing the relocation of the 9.9-meter-high white marble statue on Feb 19 when it fell into pieces.

Interest in the issue grew rapidly on the Internet and generated an outcry before the local government required the developer to make a public apology.