Countries build statues to honour their heroes, their war dead, their leaders. They represent one of societies ultimate accolades, a symbol that endures and inspires. Think of Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square, think of the falling statue of Sadaam in Iraq, think of the Colussus of Rhodes. To the pantheon of great statues, China has one to add: the unknown mouse:

Most countries honour their war dead, but China has erected a monument for a little thought of but altogether more cuddly martyr -- the mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and monkeys who gave their lives to science.

Far from basking in the glory of scientific achievement after making strides with a potential SARS vaccine, Chinese researchers had taken time to commemorate the furry martyrs who paved the way for safe human testing, the official Xinhua news agency said...[T]he Chinese Academy of Medical Science had been graced with a monument to the fallen animals. It did not give details of the monument or say where it was.

Wuhan University, in the central China province of Hubei, erected a similar monument in September in honour of 38 rhesus monkeys that died in another SARS research programme, Xinhua said.