For the past few years, China has cracked down on any attempts to commemorate the 1989 massacre of protesters. Now, the university says it posed 'legal risks.'
A statue at the University of Hong Kong memorializing those who lost their lives in the Tiananmen Square massacre was removed from the campus and put into storage Thursday. The 26-foot red statue, called the Pillar of Shame, was sculpted in remembrance of when China's military opened fire on pro-Democracy protestors on June 4, 1989.
The statue depicts bodies piled up on each other. While Chinese officials said about 200 died in the massacre, other estimates put the number of victims in the hundreds or thousands, according to BBCThe university said they removed the statue due to fears of its"legal risks." Jens Galschioet, the sculptor who created the Pillar of Shame, told the Associated Press this was a message to students that Hong Kong is cracking down on dissent. Galschioet has offered to take the statue back to Denmark. He also has gotten an offer to put the statue in a Washington, D.C., park across from the Chinese embassy. Canada, Norway and Taiwan have also offered him spots. For the past few years, China has cracked down more on any attempts to commemorate the massacre. Students at the Hong Kong university used to wash the statue every June 4 in remembrance, but the student union that organized the cleaning is now defunct. Additionally, Chinese authorities banned candlelight vigils for the past two years and shut down a museum dedicated to the incident. Some of the museum's key members are now behind bars. The"Pillar of Shame" statue, a memorial for those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, was removed by the University of Hong Kong Thursday. Above, the statue is displayed at the university on October 13, 2021.The dismantling of the sculpture came days after pro-Beijing candidates scored a landslide victory in Hong Kong legislative elections, following amendments to election laws allowing the vetting of candidates to ensure they are"patriots" loyal to Beijing. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam traveled to Beijing this week to report on developments in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, where authorities have silenced dissent following Beijing's imposition of a sweeping national security law that appeared to target much of the pro-democracy movement following mass protests in 2019. The Pillar of Shame became an issue in October, when activists and rights groups opposed a university demand that it be removed following"the latest risk assessment and legal advice." Galschioet offered to take it back to Denmark provided he would not be prosecuted under the national security law, but has not succeeded so far. "No party has ever obtained any approval from the university to display the statue on campus, and the university has the right to take appropriate actions to handle it at any time," the university said in a statement after its removal. Galshioet compared the removal of the sculpture to"driving a tank through Arlington Cemetery," a burial ground for American war veterans. "Grave desecration is also very frowned upon in China, but that's really what it is. It is almost a sacred monument," he told the Associated Press."It is a sculpture for those who died."
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Hong Kong university removes Tiananmen massacre statue | AP NewsHONG KONG (AP) — A monument at a Hong Kong university that commemorates the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre was removed by workers early Thursday over the objections of its creator from Denmark. The 8-meter (26-foot) tall Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other, was made by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt to symbolize the lives lost during the bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.
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Hong Kong university dismantles and removes Tiananmen statueA leading Hong Kong university has dismantled and removed a statue from its campus site that for more than two decades has commemorated pro-democracy protesters killed during China's Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.
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Hong Kong university removes Tiananmen massacre statueA monument at a Hong Kong university that commemorates the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has been removed by workers over the objections of its creator from Denmark
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Hong Kong University Pulls Down Monument to Tiananmen Massacre VictimsThe “Pillar of Shame,” a monument commemorating the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, stood at the University of Hong Kong for more than two decades until it was removed Thursday
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