On May 26, in response to media reports of “vandalism of the monument commemorating the hero Cao Jinku”, the Veterans Affairs Bureau of Xianju County, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, released a situation report. The details are as follows:
After verification, the Cao Jinku commemorative monument was established in 1999 in the Xianju Martyrs’ Cemetery, managed by the Xianju County Veterans Affairs Bureau. The report reflects that the stone monument was set up autonomously by the Shuangshan Township Government (According to the “Regulations on the Protection and Management of Martyrs’ Memorial Facilities”, memorial facilities for martyrs are to be established by county-level or higher people’s governments), Due to the monument and the road leading to it being located in an area prone to geological disasters, considering safety concerns, the township government decided to remove it after communication with the village committee, closing the road with warning signs placed.
Next, the Xianju County Veterans Affairs Bureau will further communicate and explain to related personnel and villagers, and strengthen the standardized management of all martyrs’ memorial facilities in the county.
Prior report:
According to People’s Daily March report, the People’s Daily received a letter from a villager in Shadi Village, Shuangshan Township, Xianju County, Taizhou City, Zhejiang, reflecting that a road leading to the Cao Jinku monument was cut off due to the construction of private residences. Villagers repeatedly reported this to relevant departments, but nobody addressed it.
Earlier, the reporter conducted an investigation in Xianju County. In Hengxi Town, the reporter met Cao Zhenfu, the grandson of the hero Cao Jinku. He explained, “My grandfather heroically sacrificed during the land revolution war in 1935 and was recognized as a revolutionary martyr by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 1988, well-known in Xianju.”
In a park in Hengxi Town, the reporter saw the introduction of local revolutionary history, including content about the hero Cao Jinku: On September 8, 1930, the CPC Xianju County Committee was established in Xikou Village (now Caohe Village) in the Hengxi area, and Cao Jinku was one of the responsible persons, and his home was a location for county committee operations.
After Cao Jinku’s sacrifice, his remains were buried at his hometown, with many people visiting every Qingming Festival to commemorate him. Before and after 2015, relevant departments in Xianju County built a memorial stone for the revolutionary martyr at the foot of Qingshan in Shadi Village (as seen in Figure 1), for more convenient worship by the masses. However, a few years ago, someone occupied the road leading to the memorial stone for building private houses.
Figure 1
“Originally, the monument was about two or three hundred meters from the main road, but now the road has been blocked, so we have to take a long detour.” On May 15, the reporter accompanied Cao Zhenfu to Shadi Village and saw that the cement road was cut off and no trace of road was visible anymore. After looping around approximately one kilometer, we finally reached the location of the monument. However, the memorial stone was missing (as seen in Figure 2)!
Figure 2
Cao Zhenfu said that before the Qingming Festival this year, the memorial stone was still there. He pointed to a stone base and concrete platform and told the reporter, “The monument was originally built here, inscribed ‘Cao Jinku Martyrs’ Memorial’. Where was the monument moved? When was it moved? We have no idea.” He spoke with anger.
In Shadi Village, several villagers told the reporter, “The day before Qingming Festival, a few people came and took away the monument.”
During the interview in the village, the reporter received many messages and calls from villagers, expressing anger at the local authorities’ insufficient protection of the commemorative monument and hoping for effective measures to restore the martyrs’ memorial facilities, and legally pursue responsibility for vandalism.
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