Workers boarded up a monument commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre at a Hong Kong university late Wednesday, raising fears that it will be demolished as the city’s authorities tighten down on dissent.
The 8-meter (26-foot) tall Pillar of Shame was erected by Danish artist Jens Galschit to represent the lives lost during the deadly military crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. It shows 50 broken and twisted bodies piled on top of each other.
The statue, however, became a point of contention in October, when the university demanded that it be destroyed, despite protests from activists and civil rights organisations. Galschit offered to return it to Denmark if he was granted legal immunity from prosecution under Hong Kong’s national security statute, but he has so far been unsuccessful.
Post Your Comments