In Hong Kong, two more universities dismantle statues marking Tiananmen Square massacre

On Friday, two more Universities in Hong Kong removed the statues marking the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. This comes after a day Hong Kong's oldest university removed a statue - which was set up on the University of Hong Kong (HKU) campus in 1997, the year the city was handed back to China. It is important to mention that 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 subject in China, according to Associated Press (AP).

The Goddess of Democracy, a 10-metre-tall statue created during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, was removed from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) campus, while another relief sculpture commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown was removed from the Lingnan University of Hong Kong on the eve of Christmas, when the majority of students were off-campus for the holidays. In a statement, the Chinese University confirmed the statue's removal, claiming that it had never authorised its display and that no one has claimed responsibility for its care and maintenance. A relief memorial wall display dedicated to the memories of the June 4 movement was also removed from Lingnan University.

The removal of statues demonstrates the ruling Communist Party's efforts to remove the bloody events from public memory. It also comes as the party stifles democratic challenges to its rule in Hong Kong. The government has never disclosed a figure for the number of people killed in the Tiananmen Square massacre, and the pro-democracy movement is still a taboo subject in mainland China. Until authorities banned annual candlelight vigils two years ago, Hong Kong and Macao, China's two semi-autonomous regions, were the only places on Chinese soil where commemorations of the crackdown were permitted, reported AP. 

Removal of statues triggered global uproar by rights groups

The dismantling of statues has now triggered a global uproar by rights groups and activists. Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt described the removal as “really brutal”. Speaking to BBC, he said that the statue was erected to commemorate those who died 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, Galschiøt also stated that he would consider filing a lawsuit against the HKU officials and seeking compensation. Meanwhile, the worldwide law firm Mayer Brown has withdrawn from defending the university in the case, according to The Guardian. Several activists also accused HKU administrators of bowing to Beijing's pressure to stifle pro-democracy protests.

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP