Hong Kong’s Tiananmen Square statue removed
A famous statue at the University of Hong Kong marking the Tiananmen Square massacre was removed late on Wednesday.
The statue showed piled-up corpses to commemorate pro-democracy protesters killed by Chinese authorities in 1989.
It was one of the few remaining public memorials in Hong Kong commemorating the incident, which is a highly sensitive topic in China.
Its removal comes as Beijing has increasingly been cracking down on political dissent in Hong Kong.
The city used to be one of few places in China that allowed public commemoration of the Tiananmen protests.
The university had initially ordered the removal of the statue – called the Pillar of Shame – in October.
“The university is also very concerned about the potential safety issues resulting from the fragile statue.”
The first sign the statue was being taken down came late on Wednesday when university officials fenced off the area with plastic sheeting.
Construction workers worked overnight behind plastic barriers to dismantle the 8m (26ft) copper statue. Security guards blocked reporters from approaching and tried to stop them from filming.
The statue depicts a column of dozens of torn and twisted bodies with anguished faces, “to remind us of a shameful event which must never recur”, according to its sculptor, Jens Galschiot.
The university said it would put the statue, which has been on display at the university’s campus for 24 years, into storage.
Galschiot called the removal “really brutal” and that he would consider suing the authorities and demand compensation.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES