Party authorities had informed the organiser any Mao-themed events required advance approval, he told the paper.
According to the Global Times, a 100-episode TV series on Mao slated to run in December on state broadcaster China Central Television will not be shown, with a series on a Chinese military leader running instead.
Hunan provincial officials have spent 15.5 billion yuan ($2.54 billion) on 16 projects linked to the occasion, according to state media, including the renovation of a tourist centre and building high-speed rail stations and highways.
After being exhibited in Shenzhen, CNR said the gold statue will be placed in the Mao Zedong memorial in his birthplace Shaoshan.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/16-million-gold-mao-statue-unveiled-in-china-2013-12#ixzz2nMouBGAG