Hong Kong varsity removes Tiananmen tribute statue after more than 20 years

HONG KONG • A leading Hong Kong university has dismantled and removed a statue from its campus site that for more than two decades commemorated pro-democracy protesters killed during China's Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

The artwork, of anguished human torsos, is one of the few remaining public memorials in the city to remember the military crackdown that is a taboo topic in mainland China, where it cannot be publicly commemorated.

Known as the Pillar Of Shame, the statue was a key symbol of the wide-ranging freedoms promised to Hong Kong at its 1997 return from British rule to Chinese rule, which differentiated the global financial hub from the rest of China.

The city has traditionally held the largest annual vigils in the world to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The Council of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) said in a statement early yesterday that it made the decision to remove the statue during a Wednesday meeting, "based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the university".

"The HKU Council has requested that the statue be put in storage, and that the university should continue to seek legal advice on any appropriate follow-up action," it said.

Late on Wednesday night, security guards placed yellow barricades around the eight-metre high, two-tonne copper sculpture. A truck drove a shipping container with the sculpture away early yesterday.

Several months ago, the university had sent a legal letter to the custodians of the statue, a group which organised the annual June 4 vigils and has since disbanded amid a national security investigation, asking for its removal.

A June 4 museum was raided by police during the investigation and shut, and its online version cannot be accessed in Hong Kong.

Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot, who created the statue, said in a statement he was "totally shocked" and that he would "claim compensation for any damage" to his private property.

Galschiot, who values the statue at around US$1.4 million (S$1.9 million), had offered to take it back to Denmark, but said his presence in Hong Kong was necessary for the complex operation to go well and asked for reassurances he would not be prosecuted.

HKU said in its statement that no party had ever obtained approval to display the statue on its campus and that it had the right to take "appropriate actions" any time.

It also called the statue "fragile" and said it posed "potential safety issues".

"The university is a coward to do this at midnight," said a 19-year-old student surnamed Chan. "I feel very disappointed as it's a symbol of history."

REUTERS