A scientist who has cared for the body of Mao Tse-tung since his 1976 death denied Tuesday rumors that the publicly exhibited remains are disintegrating.
Xu Jing, a medical expert and director of the memorial hall where Mao's remains still lie, claimed the rumors are the result of an optical illusion in the building and not any deterioration of the body."Preservation of Chairman Mao's remains has been fine and, with our perfectly safe measures, long-term preservation is no problem," Xu told the official Xinhua news agency, which reported she has supervised the remains since Mao's death in September 1976.
Mao rests in a glass sarcophagus in the imposing gray mausoleum on central Beijing's Tiananmen Square.