Mao Zedong is still revered in China as its great leader. (Photo : Getty Images)
Zuo Chunhe, an official from the Hebei Province, was dismissed and his post was deleted after criticizing China's great leader Mao Zedong online. Zuo called Mao the "devil."
He also criticized the annual ceremony of Mao's birthday as "the world's largest cult activity."
The comments were posted on Sina Weibo. After his dismissal, his account was also removed.
However, the post went viral and screen shots of his comment are still circulating online.
Zuo was the deputy director of the Shijiazhuang Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film, TV, Press and Publication released a statement saying that the director was fired due to "posting wrong remarks and for the serious violation of political discipline."
The bureau also said that Zuo needs to "to reflect deeply on his mistakes."
A similar incident occurred to Liu Yong, a producer with the Luohe Television in Henan Province. He was suspended for "wrongful speech that violates political discipline and morals," according to a statement released by his employer posted on social media.
Liu's post appeared on the eve of Mao's birthday and later apologized for "hurting the public's feelings" after being terminated.
Mao died on Sept. 7, 1976, and is regarded as the great leader and was the most controversial figurehead of China. The great leader is revered deeply in China for leading the Cultural Revolution, the movement that changed China towards industrialization.
Critics of the Chinese leader said that Mao's leadership was similar to Machiavelli and was responsible for the death of thousands.
A vocal critic, Deng Xiangchao, a communications professor at Shandong Jianzhu University, posted a joke about Mao on social media.
Deng wrote, "Being an imperial ruler in China takes skill, you should turn your yellow robe to patched clothes, changing the anointment to a celebration of a newborn state, turning concubines into female entertainment soldiers."
He added, "You should call hereditary rulers revolutionary comrades, and change the emperor's edict into a supreme instruction. But don't be honest about it."
