After complaints about the appearance and quality of Chairman Mao souvenirs, the country has approved new regulations to combat the “inaccurate interpretation” of his image, which is by far the best-selling item for tourists.
“According to the Xinhua News Agency, the Office of Quality and Technical Supervision of the Hunan Province issued a set of strict regulations regarding the production of statues of Mao in Shaoshan, where the leader of the Chinese revolution was born,” reports Tourism-Review.com.
The move was made because the tourism office believes sales of low-quality figures of Mao are harmful “towards the great man.”
As the chief engineer Jiang Tao stated, "such actions by the authorities should lead to reductions in production and sales of low-quality figurines of Mao, which are harmful to the development of the tourist market and hurting the feelings of people towards the great man."
Xinhua noted that the Office launched such an initiative in response to complaints of tourists who cannot buy a ‘real’ Mao neither from street vendors nor in stores.
New regulations set rules for materials, according to which producers can only work with a copper alloy, silver and polyester resin. Plastic, brass and brass-containing composites were banned.
But most importantly, mass production is subject to comprehensive checks before the release of souvenirs to the market. Basically, the new laws say the statutes must look like a real Mao.
By David Wilkening
