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Wellington (dpa) - Angry Chinese students at New Zealand's Massey University protested against a student newspaper's front cover spoof depicting Mao Zedong wearing a dress, according to news reports on Friday.
Tempers flared outside the university's library in Palmerston North as about 50 Chinese students and a Chinese lecturer confronted staff of the student paper Chaff, the Manawatu Standard reported.
Students printed the cover with the headline "Chairman Mee-ow!" reminiscent of the Danish cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammed, which sparked protests around the world in February.
"Chairman Mao is like Jesus to us," student Xing Tang told the paper, on the verge of tears.
He said the Chaff staff were ignorant of Chinese culture.
"Mao gave us independence. He's no more a killer than George Washington or George W Bush," said Yang Chenglin, another student.
"He is the father of China - without Mao, there is no China."
But Chaff editor Edrei Valath defended the spoof.
"It is ironic - in China, the students would have no forum in which to complain."
He said those studying in New Zealand should be made aware that a good sense of humour was part of Kiwi culture.
There have also been protests about the latest edition of Salient, the student magazine at Victoria University, Wellington, in which a joke column headed "Top Five Things to Be Wary of" listed the Chinese at No 5.
"We are getting hate mail by the minute," said Salient editor James Robinson.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
