Hong Kong varsity dismantles, removes 'Pillar of Shame' statue honouring Tiananmen victims

Hong Kong’s oldest university on Thursday said that it has removed the famous statue marking the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The statue showed piled-up corpses to mourn those killed by Chinese authorities in the pro-democracy movement. According to the BBC, the 26 feet 'Pillar of Shame' by the Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt was one of the few remaining memorials in Hong Kong commemorating the incident, which is a highly sensitive topic in China. 

In a statement, the University of Hong Kong said that its decision on the aged statute was based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the university. It added that the university is also “very concerned” about the potential safety issues resulting from the “fragile statue”. It is to mention that the statue was set up on the University of Hong Kong (HKU) campus in 1997, the year the city was handed back to China. 

According to the BBC, the news of the statue being removed from the campus came on Wednesday night, when university staff started covering the statue using floor-to-ceiling sheets and plastic barriers. The workers then worked overnight to dismantle the copper statue. Security guards reportedly even blocked reporters from approaching the area. 

The eyewitnesses of the incident said that they heard the sound of cracking and drilling but no one was able to see what was happening behind the cover. The university said that they would put the statue into storage. Back in 1989, hundreds, and possibly thousands, of demonstrators were killed by the Chinese troops in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. 

Global outcry over 'Pillar of Shame' removal 

Meanwhile, the removal of the statue has now triggered a global outcry among rights groups and activists. Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt said that its removal was “really brutal”. Speaking to BBC, Jens said that the statue about dead people was to remember the dead people in Beijing in 1989. “So when you destroy that in this way then it's like going to a graveyard and destroying all the gravestones,” he added. 

Further, Jens also went on to say that he would consider suing the HKU authorities and demand compensation. Separately, The Guardian reported that the international law firm Mayer Brown is withdrawing from representing the university on the matter. Several activists also accused HKU officials of bowing to pressure from Beijing to muzzle pro-democracy movements. 

(Image: Twitter)