In Hungary, the program is called "romániai falurombolás" (lit. "Romanian village destruction"). After May 1988, Transylvanian "atrocity stories" abounded in the Hungarian press. The Romanian regime drew unfavorable world opinion and came under increasing attack from the global press. In June 1988, 50,000 people protested in Budapest because the thousands of villages proposed for destruction by the Romanian Government included 1,500 ethnic Hungarian ones. That demonstration, taking place on 27 June, was the largest organized in Hungary after 1956. The plan was also criticised by leading members of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party. In retaliation for the 27 June protest rally held in Budapest, Ceaușescu closed the Hungarian consulate in Cluj. To address these issues, and to comply with Mikhail Gorbachev's request, Károly Grósz met with Ceaușescu in Arad on 28 August 1988. The talks were fruitless, with Ceaușescu unwilling to concede or compromise on any point. He simply used the fact that talks were being held at all as a means to win time and regain some of his lost credibility. The meeting was seen in Hungary as a capitulation of the country's national interests and significantly damaged Grósz's own prestige.