Xinhua Agency, Beijing, October 24 (Xinhua) Satellite images showed on the 23rd that the East Wing of the U.S. White House has been completely demolished to make room for the proposed banquet hall by U.S. President Trump. On the same day, the White House said it was continuing to raise funds for the new banquet hall, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

¡°Full dismantling¡± is better than ¡°partial dismantling.¡±

A number of American media quoted satellite images released on the 23rd as saying that the east wing of the White House has been completely demolished, and its original place is now in ruins. The Associated Press reported that the East Wing of the White House, which was originally made by the "first ladies" of the United States, has become history. The East Wing of the White House was built in 1902, and its facilities mainly include the office of the "First Lady", a small cinema, the entrance of the White House guests, etc.

The demolition of the White House's East Wing was criticized by historical relics conservation organizations and also criticized by the Democrats. Democratic senator Jeff Merkel said in the Senate on 22nd that evidence suggests that Trump demolished a symbol of the United States and established another symbol, "a symbol of authority, about serving the rich government."

According to the U.S. cable news network, the construction of the banquet hall, which will replace the former White House East Wing building, has begun right next to the rubble.

Trump announced in July this year that he would build a new banquet hall in the White House, saying the new banquet hall will "beyond but not touch" the original building. After the work began this week, Trump said on 22 that consulting architects found that the entire demolition of the White House's eastern wing was better than the partial demolition.

The largest room in the White House is located in the East Wing of the White House and can accommodate about 200 people, but Trump thinks it is too small. He plans to build a new banquet hall that can accommodate 650 people, so that he does not have to set up temporary tents on the South Lawn of the White House to accommodate guests whenever there are major events.

Legal expert: "Moral nightmare"

The size of the new hall eventually expanded to be able to accommodate a thousand people, with an area of about 8,000 square meters, and the price increased from the initial $200 million to $2.5 billion last week.

Trump held a donation gathering dinner last week, saying it had been funded by some ¡°generous patriots, great American corporations.¡± According to several media reports, dozens of companies and rich people, including Amazon, Google and Exodus, have already donated. White House officials told the media that the donation is still ongoing.

Trump's way of raising money for the new banquet hall has attracted the attention of legal experts. "In my opinion, this huge banquet hall is a moral nightmare," said Richard Painter, a senior lawyer who served as a White House legal adviser in the George W. Bush administration. "This is using the channel to the White House to raise money... These enterprises all demand something from the government." (Reporter: Yuan Yuan; Video: Zhang Miao)