Officials in the Fangzheng County of Heilongjiang province have demolished a memorial to Japanese immigrants to allay a public outcry over its construction last month.

This comes after five people smashed the wall with hammers and splashed it with red paint last week. The nearly 4-meter high memorial wall was emblazoned with the names of over 2-hundred Japanese immigrants who were among the thousands settled in the province by Japan's government during its World War Two-era occupation.

A local official says the memorial to the immigrants who died of hunger following Japan's surrender was a mark of the Chinese people's humanness. But local residents criticized officials for betraying the country to attract Japanese investment, and wasting public funds to commemorate invaders.