YERMO — Sculptors who carved statues for US political leaders, British knights, and Dalai Lama were incorporated at a politically prosecuted event centered on Sunday, the 33rd anniversary of the protests at Cheonanmen Square. He has unveiled his latest work at Yermo.
Weiming Chen, who left China 30 years ago and described New Zealand as his hometown, was about 30 feet tall on Sunday with the addition of various Chinese separatists, US-based communist opponents, and armed guards. Introduced the bronze statue “CCP virus”. II at his outdoor High Desert Art Center called Liberty Sculpture Park.
A depiction of Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, this sculpture features a giant skull containing COVID-19 spike protein in the hair, splatters of red paint representing blood, and a hammer and sickle, the symbols used by communists. increase.
In 2021, Chen Roll developed a similar depiction of Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party. However, Chen and his team mentioned a fire in which China burned down the first “CCP virus” sculpture in San Bernardino County last year, “spies attacked several times and finally burned it down.” “. The Sheriff’s Office told the Daily Press that its agent responded on the night of July 23, 2021.
The person behind the Inferno remains unidentified, but a federal complaint unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice in March alleged that two individuals had harassed Chen, “on behalf of the (People’s Republic of China) government. He conspired to act as a person, “he accused, behind the fire.
The DOJ said in a press release on March 16 that the two alleged perpetrators were residents of New York — fans “Frank” Liu (62) and Matthew Ghibli (49).
Liu and Jiblis claimed, among other things, that they “planned to destroy the work of art of dissident artists who have works critical of the Chinese government,” and the DOJ’s announcement “and Coronavirus.” The artist’s sculpture of Zimpin as a molecule … was destroyed in 2021. “
The Chinese government has denied this claim and previously told the Los Angeles Times: The United States hype the “China threat” and attempts to damage China’s reputation are destined to fail. “
Confront the dictator
Chen’s updated sculpture is a bit taller than the original work, about 30 feet taller than the first iteration, and much more robust. After being burnt down shortly after it was announced a year ago, it is in the burnt rubble next to the replacement rubble.
“The CCP administration hates, can’t stand freedom and human rights. Here you can see evidence of CCP’s evil,” Chen’s translator told a crowd of at least dozens on Sunday.
“No matter what they do, we can’t stop us,” the translator continued the bomb. “We are not afraid of them and never stop fighting.”
At the unveiling on Sunday, a camera-tied drone floated above the Liberty Sculpture Park.
Lise King, a spokesman for Liberty Sculpture Park, said a volunteer security team was roaming the crowd during the event on Sunday.
At least three men wore police-style uniforms, one of whom wore SWAT armor from head to toe, where both taser and pistols appeared to be fixed to the waist. rice field.
Each one wore a laminated name tag with Chen’s new engraved graphic labeled “STAFF” and put various logos on the uniform.
The SWAT armed man was identified by his name tag as Alex and wore a patch on his left arm stating “Free helicopter rides for Communists.” The Taiwanese flag with a thin blue line drawn in the center and right arm. A patch with a lightning bolt in the center of a shield-shaped contour. Bulletproof vest with Chinese characters on the back and the Taiwanese flag on the front.
The man in a more modest police uniform wore a hat labeled “The Stronach Group,” an investment company based in Ontario, Canada. Its most famous holding is a horse racing company. He wore a patch on his arm labeled “Masters Patrol Private Security”.
According to Chen’s colleagues, the existence of security was aimed at protecting the sculptor and his work from sabotage and even worse attempts.
In a recent blog post, Chen wrote on May 25, “Someone went to waste trying to destroy the sculpture garden again and was immediately arrested.” Earlier that day, the same blog post, which appears to originate from Radio Free Asia, describes the same incident, but states that it happened on May 5.
Nevertheless, the sheriff’s office gave a more conservative explanation of the case when asked about each article.
On May 24, Sheriff spokesman Mala Rodríguez told the Daily Press that “there was a report that a donation box might have invaded the Liberty Sculpture Park.”
“After a while, there was another phone call that the subject was in the park and was actively trying to break into the donation box,” she continued by email. “When I arrived, a park subject and an agent who reported that they accidentally put a public assistance card in the box the day before said. He was reportedly trying to get his card back. The subject was reportedly in the donation box. Could not access. The situation was resolved without being arrested. “
Stronger protest sculpture
Chen’s latest anti-CCP image is made of much stronger rebar than the first version. According to his team, the construction process took about seven months and cost more than $ 50,000.
Half of the cost was borne by the Human Rights Foundation, a New York-based non-profit organization.
Halvorsen, who founded HRF in 2005, said he attended the event on Sunday after flying 16 hours from his job in the Middle East.
Halvorsen wants to extend Chen’s work to multiple continents, far beyond high desserts, to extend the influence of the message.
“If anyone wants to easily understand the difference between China’s dictatorship red boots and a free country, that’s a simple definition,” Halvorsen insisted in a speech to the crowd. “China has given us the virus. Freedom has given us the vaccine.”
way to participate
Liberty Sculpture Park, 37570 Yermo Road, Yermo is an assortment of free and anti-communist art, just west of the Eddie World convenience store, between the Northbound Interstate Highway 15 and the Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow’s Yermo Annex. Is equipped with. Information: (253) 221-9338
Charlie Maggie focuses on the city of Barstow and the surrounding community, covering California’s high deserts for the daily press. He is also a report of a member of the US Corps of the Ground Truth Project, an independent independent nonprofit news agency aimed at helping next-generation journalists in the United States and around the world. You can contact McGee at 760-955-5341 or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @ bycharliemcgee.
