Unhappy meal: Ronald McDonald seized by Chengguan officers
Chinese netizens are in shock after they saw photos of a statue of Ronald McDonald being accosted and then âarrestedâ by a group of urban management officers, more commonly known as âChengguanâ. The bizarre arrest took place in front of a McDonaldâs store in Guangzhou on Sunday.
The officers were clearly not âlovinâ it,â as they forcibly demolished the statue, and tore Ronald from his base while breaking it apart, leaving only two broken shoes behind.
A member of staff from the Chengguan office responsible for the area told Yangcheng Evening News that the McDonaldâs store in question has repeatedly broken the cityâs urban planning regulations by putting outdoor advertisements on nearby sidewalks, despite the office having given it several warnings. Such advertisements, including the statue, can be an annoying obstruction to pedestrians, so the office decided it was time to move in and dismantle them.
The Chengguan office has said they will return the statue to McDonaldâs once the store admits its violation of urban planning laws, and accepts its punishment.
As the photos went viral, they sparked heated discussion among netizens. While some simply took the incident as a funny story, asking if the Chengguan were sent on a mission by KFCâs Colonel Sanders, others have been left wondering if the inspectors overreacted a little bit.
âIt must be the KFC restaurant nearby that called the Chengguan in,â joked @Ozzy_Huang.
âIn my memory, the Ronald McDonald statue has always been in that position,â commented Weibo user @Lao_jie. In fact, though such McDonaldâs statues are not so common nowadays, there used to be one in front of almost every McDonaldâs back in the 1990s. Nearly every Chinese kid back then took a photo with âUncle McDonaldâ.
âHow about the stone lions in front of some government buildings? Should you dismantle them as well?â questioned @Dongkeyits, who believes the Chengguan this time have gone a step too far when it comes to enforcing the law.
Whatâs your opinion on this? Leave your comments below.