The full ANC must then take up the matter. That would probably not occur until February, Wirt said.
The memorial's design needs the approval of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.
The "Goddess of Democracy" was built out of plastic foam and papier-mâché by Chinese students demanding greater political liberties during the 1989 protests that shook the country's communist rulers. Inspired by the Statue of Liberty, the statue was torn down by Chinese soldiers after only a few days.
The foundation's replica is to be made by San Francisco sculptor Thomas Marsh, who has already made a copy of the original that now stands in a park in San Francisco's Chinatown.
Edwards said the foundation plans to have the statue covered with a white patina to stop it from turning green. He and others also envision placing the statue so that there is a direct line of sight between it and the Statue of Freedom resting on the Capitol dome.
As for the trees on the site, "my understanding is that very informally, we recommend that the trees not be cut down," said Line.
"With regard to the trees, of course those trees are beautiful; that definitely would be preserved," said Edwards. However, he added, one of the trees "is already showing some signs of distress. We will either save the tree or . . . we will substitute and put in two new trees."
Besides the "Goddess of Democracy" replica, the memorial is to include "a roll call of nations that suffered under communism" and "quotations by such Cold War leaders as Ronald Reagan, Harry Truman, Lech Walesa, and Andrei Sakharov," according to the foundation's Web site.
"It is, of course, a matter of simple decency to memorialize the millions of victims, many of whom were buried like rubbish without even a simple stone to mark their graves," the Web site adds. Among the purposes of the memorial, it states, is "to honor those who successfully resisted communist tyranny; to educate current and future generations about communism's crimes against humanity; and to pay tribute to those who helped win the Cold War."
Edwards noted that the 1993 authorizing legislation for the memorial had bipartisan support and was signed by President Bill Clinton. As the sitting president, George W. Bush is the foundation's honorary chairman, Edwards added.
The foundation originally planned to build a museum modeled on the U.S. Holocaust Museum, but was unable to raise the $100 million that would have been required. "There was sympathy but no commitment," Edwards said.
Instead, it intends to erect the statue and set up a "virtual global museum" on the Internet through which people can link to about 10 museums around world that specialize in communism. The foundation has not abandoned the idea of a bricks-and-mortar museum, he added, and still hopes eventually to build one.
