Chinese

Tiny "golden lotus" feet -- achieved through breaking girls' toes and arches and binding them to the sole of the foot with cloth -- were thought to be a passport to a better marriage and a better way of life.

"In the conventional view, it existed to please men. They were thought to be attracted to small feet," said Laurel Bossen, co-author of the new book "Bound feet, Young hands."

But Bossen's research suggests that the custom has been massively misunderstood.

'Akilisi Pohiva offered no evidence for the claims made at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

Matangi Tonga said Mr Pohiva gathered the media by a swamp on the Nuku'alofa waterfront, where he told them he had nothing in particular he wanted to talk about.

He then went on to discuss the swamp area - an historic site and former landfill - and how he's ordered canals to be dug to beautify the area.

Mr Pohiva said he was managing the project himself, and there was no working committee or written plans.