The sculptor of a statue commemorating the victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown said on Friday that its removal from a Hong Kong university was 'brutal' but any damage would be symbolic of recent changes in the city under Chinese rule.
Workers remove a part of the "Pillar of Shame" statue by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot which paid tribute to the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing, at the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China, December 23, 2021.
The University of Hong Kong on Wednesday dismantled and removed the two-tonne copper artwork, known as "Pillar of Shame", from the campus where it has been for more than two decades, citing legal and other concerns."Of course I could repair everything, but maybe it would be nice to have some damage on it," Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot told Reuters in an interview.The university could not be reached for comment late on Friday.
The city has traditionally held the largest annual vigils in the world to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown. But it has taken an authoritarian turn after China imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020 in response to prolonged and often-violent pro-democracy protests the year before. Loud noises from power tools and chains rose from a closed off area for hours on Wednesday night before workmen were seen carrying out separate parts of the statue and winching them up on a crane towards a waiting shipping container. HKU said on Thursday it had put them in storage.
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