But around midnight on Thursday, yellow construction barriers were erected around the statue and cracks and demolition were heard as the statue was removed under cover of darkness.
Images taken during the removal process show workers wrapping the statue in protective film and pulling it out of the premises on a crane in two separate parts. The HKU council said the sculpture would be kept in storage.
Two children look at the “Pillar of Shame” statue on the University of Hong Kong campus on October 15, 2021 in Hong Kong. Credit: Louise Delmotte / Getty Images Asiapac / Getty Images
An eyewitness said the statue site was empty on Thursday morning and students were seen crying after being removed to the campus. CNN agreed not to disclose the name of this witness because the man feared reprisal from the authorities.
Fear of reprisal is common among those who speak out against the authorities in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed a national security law on the city in 2020 punishing crimes such as sabotage and secession. Till life in prison.
The Hong Kong University Council said in a statement that the expulsion was based on “external legal advice and a risk assessment for the best interest of the university.”
The sculpture, which stood in the university’s Heking Wong Building, was part of a series of works by Danish artist Jens Galschiot created in 1997 – the year Hong Kong was returned to China after more than 150 years of British rule . The sculpture includes the inscription: “The old cannot kill the young forever,” and “was built to serve as a warning and a reminder to the people of a shameful event that should never happen again.” should,” according to details on Galscheet’s website.
Security guards stand in front of barriers placed around the 26-foot-high “Pillar of Shame”. Credit: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
For three decades, Hong Kong has been the only place on Chinese-controlled soil to hold an annual mass gathering to mark the events in and around Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.
One of the most tightly censored topics in mainland China, the clampdown has been discussed in the mass media. Chinese officials have not officially released the death toll, but estimates range from several hundred to thousands.
Following the 1997 handover, the continuation of the Vigilance and similar monuments was seen as a litmus test for Hong Kong’s ongoing autonomy and democratic freedoms, as promised in its de facto constitution.
A security guard stands in front of a shipping container as barriers and security people guard the “Pillar of Shame” at the University of Hong Kong, as the sculpture is removed. Credit: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
Following the news that the statue was being demolished, artist Galschiet wrote on his Twitter account, “I am completely shocked that the University of Hong Kong is currently destroying the Pillar of Shame. This is completely unfair and Hong Kong.” I have self-immolation against private property.
Close-up of “Pillars of Shame”. Credit: Louise Delmotte / Getty Images Asiapac / Getty Images
“We encourage everyone to visit the University of Hong Kong and document everything that happens to the sculpture,” he said in a statement. We have made every effort to tell the University of Hong Kong that we want to pick up the sculpture and bring it to Denmark.”
“No party has ever obtained any approval from the University to display the statue on campus, and the University reserves the right to take appropriate action at any time to handle it,” Hong Kong University Council said in its statement.
It said that the university “is also very concerned about potential security issues resulting from the delicate statue. The latest legal advice given to the university cautioned that continued exposure of the statue would pose a legal risk to the university, enacted under the Offenses Ordinance”. The Colonial Government of Hong Kong.”
Top image: Workers remove part of a “pillar of shame” into a container at the University of Hong Kong on December 23, 2021.
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