中国监管风暴 学者中纪委指湖北关公像违建搬移浪费3亿人民币
9/06/2021
中共中央纪委国家监委今天（6日）在官网发文，批评被发现违建的湖北荆州巨型关公雕像从建造到搬移，共浪费了3亿元（人民币，下同，6200万新元）的金钱。
中纪委在评论文章指出，2016年建成的巨型关公像总造价达1亿7290万元，搬移工程总投资额则达到1亿5500万元。“3亿多元说没就没，荆州巨型关公搬移教训深刻。”
文章批评相关部门在关公雕像项目没有获得审批的情况下，在长达两年的建设期中，始终不闻不问，导致3亿多元付诸东流，既没有起到应有的文化宣传推广效益，反而破坏了古城风貌和历史文脉，损害了荆州市的城市形象，可谓得不偿失。
中纪委也谴责一些地方为了追求所谓政绩，不切实际、瞎拍脑袋，打擦边球，甚至不惜违纪违法，破坏当地民俗民风，破坏历史风貌和文脉，项目建设盲目追求“大”“最”“全”，耗费巨资造景，搞噱头、造声势，以牺牲长远利益换取短期利益。
文章举例称，陕西省韩城市耗资1亿9000万元建设“鲤鱼跃龙门”景观，贵州省独山县投资2亿5600万元建设“水司楼”，并抨击这些项目劳民伤财、脱离实际，将形式主义、扭曲政绩观演绎得淋漓尽致。
中纪委要求各地党员领导干部求真务实，做到富有远见、保持耐心、恒心，既追求“显绩”，也要在不显山、不露水的基础性工程和周期长、见效慢的“潜绩”上下功夫、使长力。
中纪委也强调，要坚持勤俭节约，把每一分钱都要用到“刀刃”上、花到关键处。监管部门要完善制度强化监管，加大对重大项目审批和违法建设的监督力度，发现苗头问题及时干预、纠正，杜绝滥建“文化地标”等形象工程。
China spending S$32m to relocate S$35m statue after locals call it ugly
The statue also exceeded local height restrictions.
By Tanya Ong
9/06/2021
A 58-metre tall bronze statue in Jingzhou, China, is being relocated at a staggering cost of 155 million yuan (S$32 million).
Massive Guan Yu statue
The statue was built as a monument to Guan Yu, a military general who was deified after his death.
According to SCMP, the statue was completed in 2016 with the hopes that it would be included in the Guinness World Records. It was dubbed the world’s biggest bronze statue of Guan Yu.
The massive statue cost 170 million yuan (S$35 million) to build, and sits on top of a museum.
Drew criticisms
The statue, unfortunately, has drawn criticisms from the government for being “vain” and “wasteful”, SCMP reported in a 2020 article.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural development demanded the statue be removed last year, saying that it ruined the “character and culture” of Jingzhou.
Locals also criticised the statue, SCMP stated, calling it “ugly”.
A man who had spent four years studying in Jingzhou was also quoted saying that “Jingzhou locals don’t go there.”
A reporter who had gone down down to the scene in May 2020 also said that they did not observe any tourists entering Guan Gong Yi Yuan, the park where the statue was located, in the hour that they were there.
It was reported that as of March 2019, locals may enter the park for free while tourists can enter at a cost of 40 yuan (S$8.30) per ticket.
Problems from the previous year
The statue also ran into problems last year when the land beneath it started to sink under its weight. Cracks were observed at the base of the statue, with the widest gap being 7cm.
In addition, the construction of the statue broke local rules limiting the maximum height of structures in Jingzhou’s ancient city.
A director in the city’s planning bureau admitted that they did not know about the approval procedures related to large sculptures, Sixth Tone reported.
The statue will be moved to a suburban tourist precinct nearby.
Photos circulating online showed that the head of the statue has already been removed.
