Demolishing the Chinese Monument, Panama Mayor Sued, Who Is Behind This Malicious Incident
The mayor of Alajuela, Panama, Peñalva, who forcibly demolished the China-Panama Monument, has been sued.
The plaintiff is Escurrido, a former mayoral candidate in Alajuela, who accused her of abuse of power. The case has now been submitted to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Alajuela.
The incident began when Peñalva ordered the removal of the monument, which symbolizes the friendship between China and Panama and the Chinese community in Panama, without prior notice over the weekend. This monument was built to commemorate the first group of Chinese immigrants arriving in Panama.
Peñalva's justification was that the monument and the park it was located in were old and in disrepair, and she decided to remove it for safety and commercial reasons, intending to transform it into a more attractive tourist attraction.
However, before this, the local Chinese community had already proposed renovation and repeatedly applied to the city government, but Peñalva ignored them, making it difficult not to suspect that she did this on political motives.
According to the information, the young mayor is only 32 years old. Before entering politics, she was an environmentalist and worked as a lawyer. She was elected mayor of Alajuela last year as an independent candidate.
Considering her past experiences and the recent competition between China and the United States over the Panama Canal, we have reason to suspect that Peñalva is intentionally targeting the Chinese community and China.
It should be noted that shortly after Trump took office, Panamanian President Molino publicly pledged at a press conference that they would not make the Chinese buildings a sacrifice in political games.
The president spoke out, but the mayor still acted on her own terms, even removing the monument without reporting or publicizing it beforehand, instead secretly having it removed in the middle of the night. To say that she is not feeling guilty would be hard to believe.
In fact, the first group of Chinese immigrants who arrived in Panama were among the builders of the canal. Their history in Panama dates back earlier than Panama's independence. Peñalva's demolition of the monument commemorating the first Chinese immigrants can be seen as somewhat like forgetting one's roots and reversing the order of priorities.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852912609433600/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.