university hong kong has ordered the removal of a statue in memory of protesters killed in China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
The 8-metre-high (26 ft) copper statue was the centerpiece of Hong Kong’s candlelight on June 4, in memory of those killed when Chinese soldiers backed by tanks fired at unarmed pro-democracy campaigners in Beijing.
The statue, called the Pillar of Shame, shows 50 victim faces and bodies stacked on each other, and has been on display at Hong Kong’s oldest university for more than two decades.
The decision was overshadowed by the statue’s Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot, who said its removal showed the ongoing purge of discontent at the once vocal and semi-autonomous trade centre.
In a legal letter to the now-dissolved Hong Kong Alliance (HKA) – the organizers of the city’s huge annual Tiananmen vigil – the university asked the group to “immediately…
“If you fail to remove the idol… it will be deemed abandoned,” the letter said.
It states that the University shall, without notice, deal with the statue in such manner as it deems fit.
Richard Tsoi, a former member of the HKA’s standing committee, said the university’s request was “inappropriate” and asked its chancellor to keep the statue.
“As a place with free speech and academic freedom, the University of Hong Kong has a social responsibility and mission to preserve the pillar of shame,” Tsoi said.
Galschiet said he was “shocked if there was a plan to desecrate the only monument to such a consequential and significant event in Chinese history”.
“I want the pillar to remain in Hong Kong where it stands today. It would be historically correct. The pillar is an important artifact that has historical links to Hong Kong and should remain on Chinese soil,” he said.
The university said its request was “based on the latest risk assessment and legal advice”.
Groups and places associated with the commemoration of the 4th June massacre have become the latest target of comprehensive national security legislation China imposed last year on the city to quell dissent after huge and often violent democracy protests.